A delicious and easy to make Festive-flavoured dessert. I used really good shop bough all butter puff pastry, its much quicker than making your own and brilliant.

Get firm seasonal pears that will cook without falling apart- Packham’s or Conference pears should do the trick nicely. The only other thing to mention is the eggs- see how yellow mine looks? Its Simply super yellow yolks from Burford eggs.

I serve this with clotted cream and. A glass of PX sherry for extra festiveness.

 

 

 

 

Serves 8

 

You’ll need a low sided 20cm pie tin with removable base- lightly greased

 

 

250g puff pastry rolled to around 0.5cm circle on a floured surface and pricked all over with a fork

2 comice pears, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and core removed

100g black berries

200ml red wine

1 stick cinnamon

Zest 1 orange

2 star anise

4 cloves

6 black peppercorns

 

 

For the bay custard

4 fresh bay leaf

2 tablespoons caster sugar

300ml double cream

3 yolks

1 whole egg (plus egg for egg wash)

 

Heat an oven to 160oc

Line the pastry into the baking tin, leaving a good overlap on the edge and place in the fridge for 10 mins to set. 

place the pears, wine, spices, zest and sugar in pan with 100ml water and bring to a boil. Turn to a simmer and cook until the pears are soft. 

Remove the pears to cool and then reduce the cooking liquor down by two thirds- to a syrup.

Cook the pastry for 15 minutes to set and just cook- it should still be pale in colour.

Whilst the pastry cooks make the custard- heat the cream to a simmer along with the bay and then turn off the heat. Whisk the eggs with the caster sugar until light and pale and then slowly whisk the warm cream in, until fully incorporated. Pour back into the pan and heat very gently, stirring as you go to thicken. Remove from the heat and pour into the tart base. Now arrange the pears and blackberries in the custard and finally brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.

Cook for 20 minutes until the pastry has browned and the custard is just set. The black berries will have started to burst through.

Cool in the base for 20 minutes on a cooling rack and then remove the tin and fully cool before serving