Perfect Christmas recipe: Mulled Pear and Almond Tart from Picture’s chefs

As the last weekend before Christmas comes to an end, those responsible for the Christmas lunch this year frantically scour the web and back-dated recordings of cooking programmes to find the ultimate set of crowd-pleasing recipes.

We ask chef duo – Colin Kelly and Alan Christie of Picture Restaurant in Marylebone to give us a helping hand in creating a show-stopping dessert finale this Christmas at home. Colin and Alan inspire us with their festive take on the traditional Bakewell tart – Mulled Pear and Almond Tart – which they currently serve at the restaurant as part of their Christmas feast menu – described by Colin as a “perfectly satisfying light alternative for those who find Christmas pudding too heavy”.

Mulled Pear and Almond Tart

Serves: 2
Prep and cooking time: 4 hours

What you need:

Frangipane

200g butter, softened
200g sugar
4 eggs
200g ground almonds
20g plain flour
1 drop of almond essence

Mulled pears

4 ripe Comice pears, peeled and whole
375ml red wine
50g caster sugar
½ cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 orange – peel only

Sweet pastry

150g butter, diced and chilled
250g plain flour
150g caster sugar
20g corn flour
2g salt
1 whole egg

What you need to do:

1. Make the frangipane filling. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs. Fold in the flour, almonds and essence. Set aside and chill until later.
2. Make the mulled pears. Add sugar and red wine into saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes before adding the pears. When adding the pears, add the cloves, orange peel and cinnamon stick. Bring back up to the boil and then allow pears to cool in the wine. Once cooled, remove from wine, cut into quarters, removing the pips and stalks. Cut into 1cm dice pieces before setting aside.
3. Make the sweet pastry. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a machine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg quickly and stop the machine as soon as the mixture has come together. Continue to work the mixture together by hand, kneading gently. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
4. Remove the pastry from the fridge 10 minutes before using and roll out to ½cm thickness to line an 8” tart case. Prick with a fork and let rest in the fridge for 1 hour and then bake blind at 160 °C /fan 140160 °C/ gas mark 3/for 25 minutes with baking beans. Remove baking beans before smearing the pear jam left from the mulled pears over the base and cover with chopped pears. Cover the again with the frangipane to just below the rim.
5. Cook at 160 °C for 45 minutes. Remove when golden and allow to cool before cutting.

Top tip: serve with Rodda’s Cornish cream

Tara Sura
Photos: Daniela Valla

To book a table at Picture, 110 Great Portland St London W1W 6PQ, call 020 7637 7892 or visit here.