PEAR, CURRANT & CARAMEL TART

This is a scrumptious tart, great to eat warm with soft clouds of whipped cream and ice cream as a dessert or at room temperature with a cup of tea. 

SHORT PASTRY - GLUTEN FREE

1 cup gluten free flour

Pinch salt

2 Tablespoons caster sugar (if making sweet pastry)

100g butter - chilled

1 egg – lightly beaten with 2 TB cold water

2 tsp lemon zest

FILLING

3 fresh pears

Small handful of currants

CARAMEL

1 cup caster sugar

4 TB water

50g butter

2 heaped tablespoons of cream cheese

PASTRY: Measure the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl (or the bowl of a food processor), then grate the chilled butter into the dried ingredients (or pulse if using a food processor). Pour in the egg/water mixture and mix with an ordinary knife until it begins to clump together. It may look as though it will never come together but it will.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead it until it forms a ball. This is a dance between handling it just enough to bring the dough together but not too much so that the butter gets so warm it falls apart. Tricky!

Shape into a flattened square, wrap into glad wrap and refrigerate while you make the caramel.

CARAMEL: Bring the sugar and water to a simmer without stirring (as stirring will encourage crystals to form). Once it begins to colour remove from the heat and swirl it watching as the colour deepens with the heat. Add the butter and cream cheese (be careful as it will spit, bubble and hiss a bit when you add this) and stir to combine to a smooth sauce.    

ASSEMBLE THE TART: Pre-heat oven to 180 C.

Roll the pastry out between two sheets of baking paper to fit a 20cmx30cm tin. Core and thinly slice 3 fresh pears and line the slices up over the pastry base.

Put the tin on a baking tray (as this assists in making sure the pastry base cooks to crisp) and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry edges are golden. Remove from the oven, pour over the caramel sauce and sprinkle with currants and bake for a further 10 minutes.  

TO EAT: Slice and eat, warm or cold, with whipped cream, ice cream or on its own. Sticky and delicious!