1 1 1 I used to visit this little place at Shaw called The Lazy Gourmet and it had the freshest pear tart in the world! Not too sweet and not too heavy, I was dismayed when they rebranded and took it off the menu. I've been trying for months to recreate that perfect pear tart, and this recipe came closest to that perfect moment when you get the soft fresh juiciness of the pears in an almost custard filling surrounded by a crust that's buttery, moist and just as enjoyable as the filling. Pears 1 juicy yellow chinese pear, skinned Crust 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds 127.6g butter, room temperature 1 large egg yolk 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1. Blend powdered sugar, almonds, and salt in processor until nuts are finely ground. 2. Add butter and blend until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Mix in egg yolk. Add flour. 3. Blend until dough comes together in clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Almond Filling 2/3 cup blanched slivered almonds 1 tablespoon all purpose flour 7 tablespoons sugar 85g butter, room temperature 1 large egg 1. Finely grind almonds and flour in processor. 2. Mix in sugar, then butter, blending until smooth. Mix in egg. 3. Transfer filling to medium bowl. Cover and chill at least 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.) Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 180°C. Roll out chilled dough on floured sheet of parchment paper to 12-inch round, lifting and turning dough occasionally to free from paper. Using paper as aid, turn dough into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Seal any cracks in dough. Trim overhang and pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze crust 10 minutes. Bake crust until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Bake crust until sides are golden and bottom is set, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 10 minutes longer. Cool crust in pan on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 170°C. Cut each pear half crosswise into thin slices. Gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center. Spread almond filling evenly over pears. Bake tart until golden, about 55 minutes. Cool tart in pan on rack. Push pan bottom up, releasing tart from pan. (Let stand at room temperature.) Cut tart into wedges and serve whilst slightle warm...yummy... 0 0 Singapore 2009-02-23T05:57:23Z 0 90 false 195 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 2010-03-11T04:07:37Z false 14 10