Pear Frangipane

Pear Frangipane

Ingredients:

For the filling

• 100g/3½oz plain dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 150g/5½oz softened butter
• 150g/5½oz caster sugar
• 150g/5½oz ground almonds
• 50g/1¾oz self-raising flour
• 3 free-range eggs
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 firm conference pears (about 500g/1lb 2oz)
• 15g/½oz flaked almonds
• 1 tsp icing sugar, to sift

Pastry
• 500g/1lb 2oz chilled ready-made puff pastry block
• plain flour, for rolling

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C (fan)/Gas 6 and place a baking tray inside.
2. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Then remove from the pan and leave to stand to finish melting, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Put the butter, ground almonds, sugar, flour and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy
4. press the pastry block into a round shape. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until about 5cm/2in larger than a 26cm/10½ flan tin and 3mm thick. Lift carefully and drop gently into the tin, pressing firmly into sides. Prick the base lightly with a fork. & trim the edges
5. Spoon all the almond mixture into the flan, drop spoonful’s of the melted chocolate on top and draw the tip of a knife through the mixture to lightly marble.
6. Put the lemon juice in a large bowl. Peel the pears and cut into quarters.  Toss the pears with the lemon juice to help prevent them discolouring. ( I have used tinned pears sometimes as easier )  Arrange the pears around the flan, cut-side down, with the pointy ends towards the middle, pressing gently into the almond batter.
7. Bake on the baking tray in the oven for 30 minutes.
8. At this stage carefully scatter the flaked almonds over the flan. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/160C (fan)/Gas 4. Return the flan to the oven for a further 25-30 minutes, or until nicely risen. The filling should also feel firm to the touch. If the flan is beginning to over brown towards the end of the cooking time, loosely cover with a piece of foil.
9. Cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes and then carefully transfer to a serving plate & sprinkle with sifted icing sugar. serve warm or cold  on its own, with custard, cream or ice cream