Pear & Red Wine Tart with Cinnamon Pastry

Method

1. Put the butter and muscvoado sugar together in a blender. Whiz together until smooth and creamy. Occasionally you can cream the mixture together with a spoon.

2. Add the egg yolks and cinnamon and blend again for a few seconds. Add the flour and pulse together until the mixture forms a ball. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.

3. Meanwhile, take a large deep frying pan or casserole dish; add the pears, cinnamon stick, caster sugar and red wine. Cover, bring to the boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes until the pears are tender.

4. Preheat the oven to 200ºC (fan 180ºC, gas mark 6). Grease a 21cm (9inch) loose based fluted flan tin.

5. Roll out the pastry on a sheet of baking parchment, then carefully lift into the flan tin. Press the pastry well into the edges, then trim off the excess pastry by rolling over the top with the rolling pin. Line the case with greaseproof paper and beans.

6. Bake for 15 minutes, remove paper and beans and cook for 5 more minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.

7. Carefully remove the pears with a slotted spoon and put onto a large plate, then arrange in the pastry case. Boil the wine juices for several minutes until they become syrupy. Drizzle over the top of the pears. Serve warm or cold.