This is a simply delicious tart filled with pears, almonds and a spiced custard. I fell in love with it the first time I tried it and slowly experimented (I baked it more than one time in quick succession) with adding different flavouring to the custard in the form of Amaretto di Saronno and/ or crushed cardamom seeds, which go delightfully with the pears. I was also the one who added the almonds in the first place, as this started off as an almond-less pear tart.

Remember to choose firm pears when planning to make this tart, as riper pears will ooze their juice on you and result in a rather watery version. Choose the firmest pears possible. There is quite a good variety of pears at any well-stocked supermarket fruit counter, nowadays, which makes it easier to get the right type of pear for this recipe. Also look for flaked almonds which give a much nicer end result.

I use half wholemeal flour and half white flour to make the short crust. I also use sweeteners instead of sugar. Using just 20g of powdered Sweet ‘n Low gave enough sweetness in my opinion (don’t forget the pears which are sweet in themselves). When using Tagatose, I used half the weight of sugar, as recommended.

I have no excuse for using Amaretto di Saronno as a flavouring – it’s full of sugar but I only used a tablespoon, so I hope I’m excused that exception.

The tart can be served warm or cold and the amounts below will make a tart which serves 10. Here goes.