Pear Cake with Shortcrust Pastry

Ingredients

• 150 g flour
• 100 g finely ground walnuts
• 80 g sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 150 g cold butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 Vanilla bean
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 kg pears
• 200 g crème fraîche
• 2 Eggs
• 30 g powdered sugar
• powdered sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Place flour, walnuts, sugar and salt on the work surface. Create a well in the center. Distribute butter pieces around the edge of the flour. Add the egg to the well and quickly knead everything into a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate.

2. 2.

   Boil 0.125 l water with honey, split vanilla bean and lemon juice in a pot over high heat for 3 minutes until reduced. Remove the vanilla bean. Peel all pears except five, quarter them and remove the core. Pour the honey syrup over them in a bowl. Preheat oven to 175°C fan.

3. 3.

   Grease the pan. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and line the pan with it.

4. 4.

   Peel the remaining five pears, remove the core and drizzle with lemon juice. Arrange the pear slices around the edge and place whole pears on top.

5. 5.

   Separate the eggs. Whisk crème fraîche with yolks and the remaining honey syrup. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold in 30 g powdered sugar. Gently fold the meringue into the yolk mixture and spread over or around the pears. Bake the cake for about 40 minutes. Ten minutes before the end dust generously with powdered sugar and allow to caramelize.