Pear tart aux fine is a variation on the traditional apple version, and equally as delicious. This tart is open-faced, so it’s even more appealing when the fruit slices are arranged artistically, but it will taste just as delicious without worrying about aesthetics. Fruity, golden and delicious!
Recipe by Robyn Capendale
Pear tart aux fine
Ingredients
Pear tart
- 1 x 250g roll ready-made puff pastry
- 60g butter, melted
- 4 pears, thinly sliced
- 1 vanilla pod
- 15ml (1 tbsp) good-quality brandy
- 45ml (3 tbsp) honey
- 45ml (3 tbsp) white granulated sugar
- 70g preserved ginger, chopped
- 45g almonds, chopped
Ginger glaze
- 5 pieces preserved ginger
- 50ml ginger preserve sauce
Ginger ice cream
- 500ml (2 cups) fresh pouring cream
- 500ml (2 cups) full-cream milk
- 200g white granulated sugar
- 50g milk powder
- 100g preserved ginger, chopped
- 8 organic egg yolks
- fresh mint leaves, to garnish
Instructions
For the pear tart, preheat the oven to 200°C. Roll out the puff pastry until large enough to trace a large dinner plate. Place the pastry on baking paper on a baking sheet and cut around the plate. Poke the pastry a few times with a fork and brush lightly with a little of the melted butter. Arrange the thinly sliced pears neatly in a circular pattern, starting from the outside and working your way in. This is how your dish will be presented, so remember to be neat!
Split open the vanilla pod and remove all the seeds. Add the seeds to the remaining melted butter and brush the pear slices with the vanilla-butter mixture. Mix the brandy and honey together and brush over the buttered pears. Sprinkle with the sugar, chopped ginger and the almonds, and bake until the pastry is cooked and the pears turn golden brown, about 25 minutes.
For the ginger glaze, blitz together the ingredients in a blender until smooth.
For the ginger ice cream, add the cream and milk to a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiled, remove from heat and add the sugar, milk powder and ginger. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until combined. Slowly pour the eggs into the hot cream, stirring continuously. Set aside to cool. Once cold, churn the ice cream in an ice-cream churner until it has reached the desired consistency.
To serve, brush the tart with ginger glaze. Slice into portions and serve with a scoop of the ginger ice cream and a drizzle of the ginger glaze. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.
