Ingredients

• 300g/10½oz raspberries
• 125g/4½oz jam sugar
• small squeeze of lemon juice
• 120g/4oz unsalted butter
• 70g/2½oz icing sugar
• 25g/1oz ground almonds
• pinch table salt
• 1 large free-range egg
• ½ tsp vanilla paste
• 220g/8oz plain flour
• 1 firm conference pear
• peeled
• 50g/1¾oz caster sugar
• ½ lemon
• juice only
• 4 star anise
• 150g/5½oz unsalted butter
• softened
• 145g/5oz golden caster sugar
• 2 large free-range eggs
• plus 1 yolk
• 2 tbsp Calvados (to taste)
• pinch fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp almond essence
• 150g/5½oz ground almonds
• 30g/1oz plain white flour

Directions

• For the jam
• put a small plate in the freezer. Place about 250g/9oz raspberries (reserve 13 for decoration) in a deep pan and mash with a fork. Add the jam sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice. Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.
• Bring to the boil and then boil for about 5 minutes
• or until a drop of the jam juice placed on the cold plate turns sticky. Once ready
• place the pan in a cold water bath and set aside to cool.
• For the pastry
• beat the butter with a wooden spoon in large mixing bowl. Sift in the icing sugar
• then add the ground almonds and salt and mix. Beat in the egg and vanilla paste
• followed by the plain flour. Once combined to a dough
• flatten to a disc
• wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to chill.
• For the poached pear
• add the pear to a small saucepan with enough water to cover. Add the caster sugar
• lemon juice and star anise. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Once tender
• remove from the water and pat dry with kitchen paper
• reserving the water.
• Bring the reserved poaching liquid to the boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes to reduce it to a sticky syrup.
• Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Use the pastry to line a 23cm/9in tart tin. Prick the base with a fork
• then spread a layer of jam on the bottom and leave to chill in the fridge.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
• For the frangipane
• put the butter and caster sugar in large bowl and blend using a handheld blender.
• Beat the eggs with the Calvados
• salt and the almond essence. Add a little of the egg mixture to the butter and sugar and beat until combined. Continue to add a little at a time and beat until smooth. Fold in the ground almonds and flour.
• Carefully spoon the frangipane batter on top of the jam and then smooth the surface using a clean knife.
• Quarter and core the pear. Cut each quarter into 3 even slices. Arrange the slices on top of the tart in a flower shape leaving a space between each slice. Place a raspberry in between each pear slice and one in the middle.
• Bake for 45 minutes
• or until cooked through. You may need to cover the tart with aluminium foil for the final 15 minutes to prevent it browning too much.
• Remove from the oven
• brush the reduced poached pear syrup over the top and set aside. After a few minutes slide onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cold.