Gingerbread, pear and almond tart

Gingerbread features quite a lot in the M household and I'm sure B will introduce it once baby B is able to push his little kitchen stool into the kitchen and demand to help!! I think B and I were gingerbread mad from an early age as Mum had an old Women's Weekly book that had a great recipe for gingerbread men. We would often make them growing up so any recipes that I stumble across with the words "gingerbread" in them sends me into a cooking frenzy with fond memories of this flavour. This tart that I came across in the Jun/Jul issue of Donna Hay is just gorgeous, the flavours of the pear and almond go so well with the gingerbread base. It was so simple but looked extremely impressive.

You will need:
125g butter, chopped and softened
1/2 cup (90g) brown sugar
2/3 cup (230g) golden syrup
2 1/2 cups (375g) plain flour, sifted
2 teaspoons ground ginger, sifted
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda
1/2 cup (60g) almond meal (ground almonds)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
3 firm brown pears, sliced
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar, extra
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup (55g) orange marmalade
1 eggwhite, beaten
icing sugar and store bought vanilla custard, to serve

Preheat oven to 160 degrees (325F). Place the butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for 8 - 10 minutes or until pale and creamy.

 Add the golden syrup, flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda and beat until mixture just comes together to form a smooth dough.

 Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes

Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper until 5mm thick. Cut out a 20cm x 40cm rectangle. 

Mix to combine the almond meal and sugar and sprinkle down the centre of the rectangle, leaving a 5cm border. 

Place pears , extra sugar, vanilla and marmalade in a bowl and toss to combine.

Top the dough with the pear mixture and fold the edges over the pears. Brush with egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tart is cooked and golden.

Dust with the icing sugar and serve with custard.

Caramel Pear Pie

Now I think B is going to be very jealous if she finds out I made this without inviting her over for some!! I think it would be safe to say B LOVES anything caramel. I thought I would browse through some of my Donna Hay Mags by the seasons and seeing we are coming into the cooler months I picked out all the April through July magazines and made a promise to myself that I would make at least one dessert and one savoury recipe from each (more if I get around to it) I drool over these books and never get round to actually trying many of them.

When we find a winner in this house we tend to stick to the same thing for some time......not that I mind as if you find something the whole family will eat why change it! I also have a problem, moving on from dessert pages!! They call out my name as I flick through!!! (that's my excuse anyway)

This pie is so easy. It really is, trust me! (Yes there is pastry involved again, but by now you should be an expert at it if you have made any of the previous recipes listed in our blog!). It also looks impressive, so you can impress your friends by whipping this one up and you won't have to look far for the fruit as pears are everywhere at the moment, and if you are a fan of caramel I recommend this one,  it's a WINNER! Just imagine.....creme caramel, this is exactly what this pie is like, silky smooth texture with the texture of the pear also!!

If you have the same disease as me and have every Donna Hay magazine known to man you will find this one in Issue 38 April/May 2008 page 124.

You will need the following:
3 pears, peeled, halved and cored
2 tablespoons water
1 quantity basic vanilla pastry ( I will put the recipe for this at the bottom)
1 eggwhite, lightly beaten, for brushing
1/2 cup (90g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) golden syrup
40g unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
1/4 cup (60ml) pouring cream


Basic Vanilla Pastry
1 2/3 cup (250g) plain flour
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
180g cold unsalted butter, chopped
1/3 cup (80ml) iced water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I will start with the pastry:
Place flour, sugar and baking powder in a food processor and process to combine. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, gradually add the water and vanilla and process until the mixture comes together to form a smooth dough. (at this point I didn't actually use all the water as my dough came together before I poured all the water in) Remember less mixing, handling of the dough the better!! Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes before using.

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees (320F). Place the pear and water in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Cover and cook for 5-8 minutes or until just tender ( My pears were slightly ripe anyway so it didn't take long and I just covered my fry pan with some foil)

Set aside to cool. Roll out the pastry to 3mm thick. Line the base of a lightly greased 28cm shallow metal pie tin and trim the excess pastry. ( I used my tart tin with the removeable base)

Gently press the edges with the back of a teaspoon and brush with eggwhite. Place on a baking tray.

Place sugar, golden syrup, butter, eggs, and cream in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Arrange pear in the base of the pastry shell and pour over the caramel mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until just set. Allow to cool in tin. Serves 6

Nice big dollop of cream or ice-cream!!!

Enjoy! M x