Pear croustade with lemon pastry and almonds

After I finished making these tarts – and took a bite out of one – I immediately thought that this would be a great recipe for those of you who are beginning to bake: no equipment required – just a bowl and a fork to make the pastry – and no specific baking pan either. And there’s another good aspect for my Brazilian readers: since pears are in season, this is a delicious and budget-friendly dessert. :)

Pear croustade with lemon pastry and almonds
from here

Pastry:
1 ½ cups (210g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices
¼ cup (or more) whipping cream

Filling:
450g (1 pound) firm but ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
450g (1 pound) firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon (generous) ground nutmeg
whipping cream (for brushing)
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

For pastry: whisk flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; using fingertips, rub in butter until coarse meal forms. Drizzle ¼ cup cream over; toss with fork until moist clumps form, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls as needed if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour (can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before rolling out).

For filling: preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Mix all pears, sugar, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, and nutmeg in large bowl to coat. Roll out pastry on sheet of floured parchment paper to 35cm (14in) round. Transfer crust on parchment paper to baking sheet. Mound pears in center of pastry, leaving 5cm (2in) plain border. Fold pastry border over pears, crimping slightly. Brush pastry edges with cream; sprinkle with sliced almonds.
Bake croustade until filling bubbles and almonds are lightly toasted, about 1 hour. Cool slightly. Serve croustade warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Serves 8 – I halved the recipe above and made two small croustades (used Packham pears)