Marzipan and Pear Tart with Cranberries

I made this tart on mothers day- it felt like it took me bloody hours but that was probably because I wasn't alone in the kitchen (anyone else just like to cook alone?). I love pears in anything and thought this tart look sufficiently fancy to be good enough for a mothers day dinner.

To cook and flavour the pears you will need:

195g of caster sugar
600ml of water
4 large pears
1 table spoon of lemon juice
2 table spoons of brandy
1 table spoon of vanilla extract
60g of dried cranberries 

Poach the pears in the water and 150g of sugar until they are soft but not falling apart. This took mine about 10 minutes but yours might take longer depending on hardness. Then you should drain off the syrup and leave it to one side.

In a medium bowl mix together the remaining ingredients and leave to sit. You should leave it as along as possible (ideally over night but I didn't have that kind of time). I left mine for a few hours which seemed to be enough.

Secondly for the pastry you will require:

60g of caster sugar
250g of plain flour
A pinch of salt
115g of butter (cold and cubed)
1 large egg

The majority of the time I make my pastry my hand but because the recipe suggested doing it in the machine and I had quite along still to do I just did it this way. Mix the sugar, flour, salt and butter together until it forms a breadcrumb like texture. You should then add the egg until a dough just starts to form. DON'T OVER WORK THE PASTRY!! 

Then bring to dough together by hand- I was able to do this while it was still in the bowl so I didn't make any mess. When it forms a nice ball wrap it on cling film and put it in the fridge for 40 minutes. 

For the filling (or along the base of the pastry) you will need:

50g of butter (softened)
120g of marzipan
1 large egg
1 1/2 table spoons of cornflower
1 table spoon of brandy

Cream together the butter and marzipan with an electric mixture until it is light and creamy. Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl so everything is mixed in well. Then add the egg, cornflour and brandy and combine.

Once the pastry has rested in the fridge roll it into the tart dish- mine has a loose bottom and had been greased with butter and flour before hand. When all the pastry has been gently been pushed into all the corners it goes back in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Next you have to 'bake it blind' which means covering it with cling film and filling it with baking beans. Put it into a preheated oven at 170°C for 10 minutes. Remove the baking beans and cling film and cook for another 15 minutes until golden brown.

Once the pastry has cooled you can start to build the tart. Firstly spread the marzipan mixture evenly over the bottom, the layout the fruit evenly across the top (once it has been drained of course). Then pop it into the preheated oven at 160° for 35-45 minutes. When it is ready it should be a yummy golden brown colour and have risen evenly all the way through. 

Last I made a bit of a glaze with the left over liquid from the pears and a teaspoon of brandy, a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of cornflour. Add all these to a pan and boil hard until it reduced to about half and is a syrupy consistency. I then spread it over the cooked tart.

Wow! That was a long one- if you guys decided to make this or any of my other recipes please tweet me a picture @gisforgingers because I would love to see!!