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Pear and frangipane tart

From: gourmettraveller.com.au

250 gm butter, softened
250 gm caster sugar
½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
4 eggs
310 gm finely ground almonds
To serve:
maple syrup and vanilla ice-cream
Poached pears
375 ml dessert wine
250 gm caster sugar
3 star anise
2 cinnamon quills
2 thin peelings of orange rind
Scraped seeds of one vanilla bean
Pinch of saffron threads
4 ripe pears, such as Packham

For poached pears, combine wine, sugar, star anise, cinnamon, orange peel, vanilla seeds, saffron and 1 litre water. Bring to the simmer, then reduce heat. Peel pears, then remove the base of each pear with a melon baller (see note). Using a smaller melon baller, remove the core through the first hole that was made. Add pears to saucepan, cover with paper, weight with a plate and poach until tender (50 minutes-1 hour). Cool in syrup. Before serving, cut pears in half.

Preheat oven to 170C. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl, until batter is light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Then fold in ground almonds and spread into a 20cm x 30cm cake tin lined with baking paper and arrange poached pears, cut-side up, on top (don't push pears into mixture). Bake until golden brown and tart springs back when lightly touched (35-45 minutes). Cool in the tin, remove and cut into eight pieces. Serve with maple syrup and vanilla ice-cream.

Note If melon ballers are unavailable, you can alternatively halve the pears and use a teaspoon to remove the core. Adjust cooking time.