OK, pears aren’t exactly in season but we saw the legendary Raymond Blanc knock up this tart and were inspired to make it

As you’d expect from the wonderful Monsieur Blanc, this recipe is utterly delicious, with the bonus that it’s easy to make too. If using fresh pears is just too fiddly for you lazy people, tinned ones work just as well. So there really is no excuse for not having a go…

Ingredients 

• 6 pear halves

• 100g unsalted soft butter

• 100g caster sugar

• 100g ground almonds

• 1tsp cornflour

• 1tsp vanilla extract

• 1 egg

• Toasted flaked almonds

• Optional icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C fan. Grease a 20cm tart ring. Rub the inside edge with unsalted butter and then stick a strip of greaseproof paper all the way round. Place the tart ring on a lined baking tray.

In a bowl, mix the butter and sugar, then add the ground almonds, cornflour, vanilla and egg. Mix well then spoon into the tin, spreading evenly.

Drain the pears, then arrange evenly around the outside of the tart, resting them on top of the almond sponge mixture.

Scatter with a handful of flaked almonds and then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Leave the cake to cool for a few minutes before removing it from the ring. Dust with icing sugar to serve.