It’s rare to find a dessert that is both simple and extraordinarily delicious. Pear Almondine is one of my favourites. You can find some excellent preserved Williams pears in jars or tins, ideal for this recipe. This dessert is a template to accommodate many other fruits and flavours. For baking like this, I like to use a baking stone. However, if you don’t have this, it will still be a winner.
SERVES 6
6 pear halves, tinned or jarred
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for brushing the tin
100g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 medium egg (preferably organic or free-range)
To serve
a handful of flaked
almonds (for extra flavour, first toast them in a dry pan)
icing sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Butter (or oil) a tart ring, about 18cm x 2cm. Cut a long strip of greaseproof paper to stick to the inside. Place the lined tart ring on a lined baking tray or baking stone. Drain the pears and slice them in half again if they are large. In a large bowl, mix the softened butter and sugar. Then add ground almonds, cornflour, vanilla and egg, and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin, spreading it evenly.
Arrange the pear halves evenly around the outside of the tart, resting them on top of the almond sponge mixture, and with the tip of each half meeting in the middle. According to size of the pears, you may require the base of half a pear to fill a space in the centre. Scatter with almonds. Bake the tart on the middle shelf of the oven, on the preheated baking stone or baking tray, for 20–25 minutes, or until golden. Leave the cake to cool for a few minutes before removing it from the ring. Before serving, dust with icing sugar.
VARIATION
In a saucepan, reduce the syrup from the jar, let it cool and add a dash of Poire William, the pear liqueur. After baking, puncture the pears with a fork and pour over the syrup. It adds colour and flavour.
Cook more from this book
Mussel and saffron risotto by Raymond Blanc
Slow-roasted shoulder of lamb, harissa by Raymond Blanc
Buy this book
Simply Raymond: Recipes from Home – The Sunday Times Bestseller, includes recipes from the ITV series
£25 Headline Home
cookbookreview.blog 
Pear Almondine-I followed the instructions but sadly part of my filling leaked out .( you must have a heavy ring! ) So looking a sorry Pear affair!
Also the 16 – 20 minutes definitely not enough in my oven
And yours definitely looks bigger than the 18cm tin size
LikeLike
I made this yesterday I followed the recipe to the letter and mine leaked out. It was a disaster ! It was the Depth of a biscuit .
LikeLike
Same here Elaine, the temperature was too low at gas mark 3 and did not cook leaving a mess! Other recipes go to 180 deg gas mark 6.
LikeLike
I’ve had three attempts at this now. Always the same issues. Not anywhere near cooked in the time at the temp and lots of mixture leaked out. I don’t know where I’m going wrong.
LikeLike
The recipe has now been amended so hopefully you won’t have any more issues.
LikeLike
Great the temp was amended. I want to try again but what about the mixture leaking out under the pastry ring. Anyone have any ideas?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No where near cooked at 140C after 20 mins. Other websites are saying 180C in a fan oven. Surely the suggested 140C in this recipe needs amending ?
LikeLike
The recipe text I was sent differed from that published in the book. I have now updated the recipe on this site so that it is the same as the book. Apologies for not doing so earlier. Thanks very much for pointing out the error.
LikeLike
I’ve done this at 180 fan 3 times but needs far longer than 25 minutes. I put a cake liner in my tin so never leaks.
This is always a great hit with the family and dinner parties.
LikeLike
140deg was madness – but your timings are still out. On the TV programme Raymond definitely says bake at 170deg fan for 35-40 minutes.
LikeLike
Thanks for commenting. The timings are Blanc’s, reproduced from his book. As most recipe books will state somewhere, all recipes should be taken as a guide, everyone’s ovens are different so you have to use some judgement in terms of when something is cooked. Like so much in life, it comes down to practice and experience.
LikeLike
Sue Wood: Use a silicone mould. No greasing or lining needed.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing. On the telly he says bake at 170 for 35 – 40 minutes . We baked for 25 as per the recipe and this was not long enough
LikeLike
You need an English pop up pie or flan tin greased and lined with paper (24cm) then add 35-40 g extra sugar almonds and butter also use a large egg or 2x very small ones increase the cornflour to a heaped teaspoon and extra vanilla you may need 1.5 tins of pears if you’re poor like me and cant afford fancy jars of preserved pears in syrup I added sugar to the tin juice and a cap of spanish brandy reduced down better than pear liqueur.
LikeLike
Mine was great…ive cooked it twice…but there was no indication to oven temperature..I cooked it at 180 in a fan oven. So no leaking
LikeLike
I have made this twice now following the recipe on Blanc’s book. First time with the cake tin base and second time without. Much easier with the cake tin base. It collapsed into a mess when I tried to transfer from the baking sheet to a plate in my second attempt. Timing slightly off but I just added about 5 more mins till it browned more. It does taste delicious though. Just want to try and make it look more presentable next time. Used ordinary tin of pears, not fancy.
LikeLike
This is delicious and easy . Made twice, first time leaked so second time used a cake liner inside the ring. Also I would cook I. My circotherm at 160 for 35 mins. Interestingly mine didn’t liosS pretty as the picture . 18cm is tiny and doesn’t not give enough room to space the pears out as in the picture. I am going to try adding mor batter and using a 23cm tin next time.
LikeLike
I have made this several times with 100% success it looks fab and tastes amazing , follow the instructions to the letter, cool in the tin means just that any juice leakage is absorbed as the flan cools and remember that all ovens vary, some cook hotter than others at the same temperature
LikeLike