Pear and Almond Wellington

Ingredients
- 2 ripe pears
- 50g butter, softened
- 50g caster sugar
- 1tsp almond essence
- 50g ground almonds
- 15g plain flour
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 packs ready to roll puff pastry
- 100g raspberry jam
- 15g flaked almonds
Instructions
Method:
- Pre heat the oven to 200°c /180°c Fan/392°F/Gas Mark 4.
- Peel 2 pears and cut in half length ways, removing the small core with the tip of a knife or spoon.
- To make the filling, beat together the soft butter, caster sugar and almond essence until light and fluffy.
- Mix the ground almonds and flour together.
- Add 1 beaten egg at a time, interspersed with a spoonful of almond and flour mix until it is fully incorporated, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Place 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a parchment lined baking tray and cut the pastry into 4 squares.
- Spread 1 spoonful of almond filling into the middle of each square of pastry and then top with a spoonful of raspberry jam.
- Add a half of pear on top, then spread an even sized layer of almond filling over the pear.
- Egg wash around the pear and then add the other puff pastry sheet over the top. Carefully pressing the pastry nice and snug over the pear.
- Cut around the pear with a knife and remove the excess pastry. Egg wash the pastry, sprinkle with flaked almonds and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes and dust with icing sugar. Serve with whipped cream.
Chef’s Tip:
This works with other autumnal seasonal fruit like apples or plums.