Baked by Iris

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 115g Unsalted Butter, at room temp
• 60g Icing Sugar
• 150g All-purpose Flour
• 80g Almond Meal
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1-2 tbs Cold Water

For the filling:

• 5 Apples (I used Pink Lady)
• 1 Lemon ( Zest and 1/2 Lemon Juice)
• 120g Sugar
• 40g Unsalted Butter
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 Eggs
• 160g Thickened Cream
• 1 tsp Vanilla Paste

Instructions

1. Start by preparing the pastry. In a bowl, place the softened butter cut in chunks, icing sugar, all-purpose flour, almond meal and salt. Use your hands to pinch the mixture together, this will create a crumble like mixture. Add your egg yolk and bring the dough together. You may add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold water to help with bringing the dough together. Sprinkle some flour on your work bench and turn the dough, knead gently for a couple of minutes until the dough comes together. Shape in a disk and wrap in cling film. Place in fridge to chill for one hour.
2. Peel and core your apples. Cut in quarters. Place in a bowl and add your lemon zest and 1/2 lemon juice. Mix well.
3. Melt the butter and 60g of sugar in a pan set on a low-medium heat. Add your apples and cook gently. You may add some cinnamon to taste. You want the apples to soften slightly. Set aside when ready.
4. In a clean bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, thickened cream, the remaining 60g of sugar, vanilla paste and cinnamon. Set aside.
5. Pre-heat your oven to 210C. Prepare your tart tin by lining it with baking paper. Set aside.
6. Take your pastry out of the fridge and stand for 10 minutes. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface or in between two sheets of baking paper. Don’t worry if the pastry break, you can always patch it directly in the tart tin. Once your pastry is lined, add your chunks of caramelised pears to the pastry. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
7. After 15 minutes, take the tart out of the oven and pour the egg mixture. Sprinkle lightly with brown sugar or rapadura sugar, then place back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes.
8. Once baked, take your tart out of the oven and let cool slightly. Enjoy as it is, with vanilla ice-cream or a dollop of creme fraiche. Enjoy! :)

Tips & Notes

I prefer to do the pastry by hand as it allows me to leave chunks of butter – guaranteeing a beautiful shortcrust pastry. You can also make it in a stand mixer or food processor. Make sure not to overwork the dough, you still want chunks of butter in it.