Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry, 25cm square
6 pears
1/2 cup fig preserve
1 egg yolk
1 tsp water
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp icing sugar
Method
1. Heat the oven to 205° celsius.
2. Cut each pastry sheet once horizontally and twice vertically to make 6 rectangles.
3. Transfer the 12 pastry rectangles to baking tray
4. Smear a small amount, a teaspoon at most, of preserve on the middle each rectangle, leaving at least a centimetre of edge unsmeared.
5. Slice the pears in half, remove the cores, stalks, and sepals (the plant bits at the other end from the stalk).
6. Fan the pear slices nicely over the preserve on each rectangle, about half a pear each.
7. Combine the egg yolk and water in a small bowl or dish, and use a pastry brush to brush the mix over the edges of the pastry, around the pear.
8. Sprinkle a dash or two of brown sugar on the egg on each rectangle.
9. Place tray on a rack and bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
10. Sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon and a smidgen of icing sugar, and serve hot, at room temperature, or cold.
Notes
I use frozen butter puff pastry, thawed for 15-20 minutes.
I prefer fruit preserve as it has less sugar, but any flavour jam is fine.
I line my baking tray with silicon sheets but baking paper or foil will do just as well.
The reason I made this in the first place is that I had several very ripe pears too mushy to eat.
I used Bartlett pears, but Anjou, Bosc, or really any sweet pear is great.
With older pears, you’ll probably find some grit on the chopping board when you slice them. It’s fine and not evident in the end product.
A dash is 1/8th of a teaspoon, a pinch is 1/16th, and a smidgen is 1/32nd. You don’t have to be exact.
I left the ones in the picture in the oven probably a few minutes too long, so check after 25 minutes.
Yes, there are only 11 tarts in the picture – I ate one before I took the photo (it was delicious!).
This recipe will work just as well with apple, apricot, peach, berries – experiment!