I am pretty sure that I have not yet had the chance to meet all of my lovely readers, and you know what? I would love to meet you! So why not introduce yourself? And, for those of you that I have had the honour to “meet” already, I would love to know more about you. To get the ball rolling I will fill you in on some tidbits about me that you may not know:
A couple of years ago I was a live host of an hour long radio show for young teens. I also script wrote and directed a short mini-drama for each show called “The Adventures of Bob and Alfred.”
I used to volunteer at a hospital where I accidentally dropped a frog on an immobile elderly lady. I promise we were only trying to add a little excitement to her life, just not that much.
I also used to be the bus driver for said hospital and ended up lost in the woods with 5 old people, trying to find my way back to the hospital, while one of them got up every time I stopped because she wanted to go to the bathroom in the woods.
I am extremely stubborn and if you tell me that I can’t do something, I will just have to prove you wrong. This is how I blacked out just before the finish line in the 200 metre dash in my high school track-meet. But, I still came in third, gosh darn it!
Now it’s your turn. You don’t have to get quite so personal. But, I would love to know something about you. So, fill me in people!
Now about this tart. Let me tell you, it is delicious. Neither me or my husband have stopped thinking about it since I made it. And, he doesn’t even like pears! We managed to polish it off the day after it was made. There is so much wonderful flavour in this flaky pastry parcel. The sliced almonds add a lovely nuttiness, while the lemon zest adds a brightness that make it taste fresh and inviting. The crust itself is amazing, I may just use it for all of my freeform tarts. It’s easy to work with, flaky and buttery. Just perfect! I will be making this again soon, and this time I think I might try it with apples, for my loving husband (even though he gobbled it down just fine with pears). :)
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- Egg wash (1 egg white + 1 tsp. water, whisked together)
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- ¼ cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
- 1⅓ cups flour
- 3 Tbsp. sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 7 Tbsp. cold butter, cubed
- 2-3 Tbsp. cold water
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
- ¼ cup flour
- 1.5 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 4 medium sized ripe pears, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- 1.5 tsp. milk
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- Roll the pastry dough out to a 14 inch circle. Place on a large baking sheet.
- Spoon the filling over the pastry leaving a 2 inch wide rim. Cut the butter into small cubes and sprinkle over the filling. Fold the edges of the pastry over the filling, pressing the pastry together, to seal.
- Brush egg wash over the pastry and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown.
- Pour glaze over the warm tart and sprinkle with almonds.
- Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add water 1 Tbsp. at a time until the dough sticks together to form a ball. (You may need more water depending on the humidity in your area. Just make sure it sticks together without being sticky to the touch.)
- Toss together all ingredients until pears are well coated.
- Mix together until smooth. (Do this just before glazing so that it does not start to set)
Adapted from TasteofHome.
