Friday, August 31, 2012

Gingerbread, pear and almond tart

Gingerbread pear tart / Torta de pêra e gingerbread

I got hypnotized by this tart when I first saw it on the DH mag – it looked so beautiful and delicious! My first thought was to make it at the end of the year and post the recipe as part of my Christmas series, but then I remembered that pears are at their peak now, and I had a small amount of marmalade in the fridge (left from a cake I’d made a couple of weeks before) that ended up being the exact ¼ cup called for in the tart recipe; as the universe had conspired in my kitchen before and the results were wonderful, I went ahead and made the tart, and that turned out to be a very smart decision. ;)

Gingerbread pear tart / Torta de pêra e gingerbread

Gingerbread, pear and almond tart
from the always gorgeous and delicious Donna Hay Magazine

½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup (88g) brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup golden syrup (I used corn syrup)
2 2/3 cups (373g) all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
½ cup (50g) almond meal
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
3 firm pears, halved lengthwise, each half cut in 4-5 slices
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, extra
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup orange marmalade
icing sugar, for dusting
whipped cream, for serving

Place the butter and sugar in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup, flour, ginger, baking soda and salt and beat until mixture just comes together to form a smooth dough. Divide in two equal portions and form each one into a rough rectangle. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a small bowl, mix together the almond meal and the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside. Place the pears, extra sugar, vanilla and marmalade in a large bowl and mix to combine.
Line a large baking sheet with foil. Roll each portion of dough between two pieces of lightly floured baking paper until you get a 20x30cm (12x8in) rectangle. Sprinkle the almond meal mixture down the center of each dough rectangle, leaving a 5cm (2in) border. Place the pear filling on top of the almond meal and fold the edges of dough over the pears. Transfer to the prepared sheet. Refrigerate the tarts for 20 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked and golden. Cool in the pan over a wire rack – you can serve the tarts warm or at room temperature.
Dust with the icing sugar and serve.

Makes 2 tarts, each serving 4-6

8 comments:

Laura (Tutti Dolci) said...

This is so beautiful! Can I come for dessert? ;)

tea with hazel said...

wow..your tart is simply stunning..

Lynna said...

I love pears and tarts~ I will have to make this during the fall!

Mutfak Havlusu said...

my blogger frıend was talking about this recipe
she has prepared so will write her blog.
i want to see this tart when ı saw i said good seeming:-)

Deb said...

So looking forward to seeing a variety of pears at the market. Your tart is just magnificent, a perfect recipe to usher in our fall season.

Mollie@Kitchen Accessories said...

Season of Pears is now approaching here in our place.I will try your Ginger bread with Pear Tart.

Marise said...

Patricia, Did this tart yesterday and it was a huge success. Did a little change though. Instead of almond meal and sugar I lined the pastry with marzipan and put lemon juice and zest on the pears. Served with some cream perfumed with a little almond essence. Divine. Gonna post a photo on Flickr.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Marise, I love, love, love the idea of using marzipan in this tart! Wonderful! I cannot wait to see your photo.
xx

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