Little and Friday Pear Tarts

If you have been reading my posts you will now know I love Kim Evans book and cafe Little and Friday. In my last post I posted her recipe for Poaching Pears, I used the poached pears in her delicous Pear Tarts recipe.

I love how these turned out golden and crispy on top. I did how ever over fill them to much, because I wanted to use up all the fragipane filling as it made quite a bit.

The pastry is store bought, I know i know shocking right, but this recipe has a few elements to it so I cheated on that part. You can make homemade sweet pasrty by using the the same recipe I used to make these Lemon Tarts.

I only had four removable tart tins (I bought mine from The Warehouse), so I used these mini foil cases I found at the good old $2 shop. These tarts are pear and apple.

Pear Tarts Recipe

Adapted from Little and Friday

• 1 recipe Sweet Pastry or store bought
• 1 cup Frangipane ( recipe below)
• 6 Poached Pears
• 1 tbsp Manuka honey, to glaze.
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On a lightly floured bench, roll out pastry to 3mm thick and line tart tins. Rest pastry cases in refrigerator or freezer for at least 30 minutes. place on a baking tray, as these drip a bit while baking.

Preheat oven to 180c. Spoon 3 tbsp Frangipane into each tart case. using a sharp paring knife, carefully slice the bottom off each pear so they sit flat. Keeping the tops intact, cut vertical slices from the stalk of each pear, making each slice a few millimetres apart.

Gently spread the pear slices apart to form a circular fan from the stalk. Place a pear fan on top of each tart, twisting slightly so slices extend to edges.

Bake for 30 minutes or until Frangipane is cooked. Make a honey glaze by melting manuka honey with a dash of boiling water. Using a pastry brush, paint glaze over pears while hot. Leave tarts to cool slighty before removing from tins. Serve with Mascarpone or Ice cream.

Frangipane Recipe

Little and Friday

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups ground almonds ( I used 3 small 70g pks)
• 1 tbsp flour
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Makes 2 cups.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stop the beater and scrape the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure ingredients are being thoroughly combined. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Ensure first egg is well integrated before adding the next. Using a wooden spoon, stir in ground almonds and flour to form a paste.

Frangipane will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Little and Friday

http://www.facebook.com/LittleAndFriday

Little and Friday Poached Pears

Since its pear season we have had an abundance of pears. So I thought I would poach them, I used Kim Evans recipe from her book Treats from Little and Friday. 

Poached Pears Recipe

Adapted from Kim Evans Treats from Little and Friday

• 6 Pears, peeled and cored ( I used a melon baller to core the pears)
• 2 star Anise (I didnt have any so I used 1 tsp of Mixed Spice)
• 2 cinnamon quills or 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp Manuka Honey ( I didnt have any so left this out)
• 1 cup Sugar

Place enough water in a large saucepan, to cover pears (I used 1 cup of water per pear). Bring to a boil. Add spices, honey and sugar. Stir until sugar has dissolved, then add pears. Simmer for 30 mins, or until pears have softened and becomes transparent but retains their shape. Remove from saucepan, reserving liquid, and allow to cool.

Pears can be refrigerated in an airtight container with their liquid for up to 5 days.

A few Notes: To prevent the pears discolouring while cooking, make a cartouche. Before cooking the pears cut a circle of baking paper to fit the circumference of your saucepan. Cut a hole in centre of the circle to allow some of the steam to escape. Lay the paper on the surface of water while the pears are cooking, pressing down every so often to make sure the steam is released. (I was all out of baking paper, so I used Tin foil instead).