Pear and mincemeat tart
This pear and mincemeat tart has a rich crumbly hazelnut and orange flavoured pastry which melts in the mouth. Serve hot or cold with custard cream or ice cream. It is also delicious with steaming hot custard.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time40 minutes mins
Resting Time45 minutes mins
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: British
Keyword: autumn, Christmas, winter
Servings: 8
for the pastry
- 100 g (3½oz) blanched hazelnuts
- 225 g (8oz) plain flour
- 25 g (1oz) icing sugar
- 175 g (6oz) butter, cut into cubes
- 1 egg, separated
- 1 orange
- caster sugar, to sprinkle
for the filling
- 4 pears, peeled cored and sliced
- 500 g (1lb 2oz) mincemeat
Prepare the pastry
To make the pastry, place 100g (3½oz) hazelnuts in a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped. Add the flour and icing sugar, and blitz again.
Add the butter and blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice. Then add the orange zest, 2 tablespoons orange juice and 1 egg yolk. Blitz in short bursts until the pastry starts to clump together ading a little more oarnge juice if required.
Tip out onto a work surface and finish bringing the pastry together with your hands to form a dough. Cover and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Roll out about ¾ of the pastry and use to line a 25cm (10in) deep round flan tin or pie dish. Prick the base with a fork and chill for 30 minutes.
To complete
Preheat the oven to 190℃/180℃ fan/gas mark 5. Pile into the pastry case and level the top as evenly as possible.
Roll out the remaining pastry and use a cutter to cut out shapes and place over the top of the filling overlapping but leaving a small amount of the filling showing through in places.
Lightly beat the egg white with a fork and brush over the pastry shapes and sprinkle with a little caster sugar.
Bake in the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Alternatively, cool completely and serve cold.
Cook's Tip
The pastry is quite soft. If you find the pastry difficult, roll it out between two sheets of cling film or parchment. If it cracks when lining the tin, gently press together again
Store: In the refrigerator or covered in a cool dry place for up to 3 days.
Freeze: The pie can be made and frozen before baking. Open freeze before wrapping well and store for up to 6 months. Allow to thaw completely and glaze with egg white and sugar just before baking. The cooked pie can also be frozen for up to 3 months.