Pear Tart With Toffee Shards

I love to cook, but I'm not a great 'baker' - this very easy tart is the exception. It's really easy and looks and tastes divine. The recipe is courtesy of the Age newspaper, Epicure section. A note - be careful when removing the cake as the toffee may still be hot. This might be more about my cake tin, but to prevent any toffee leakage - I've found it best to bake this with the cake tin sitting inside another, larger foil-lined baking tin.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  cup sugar
• 1⁄3 cup water
• 2  firm pears, peeled and quartered
• 2  large eggs
• 1⁄3 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla essence
•  zest of one orange
• 1  lemon, zest of
• 100  g unsalted butter, melted
• 1  cup self-raising flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 170 C fanforced (190 conventional).
2. Grease a 20 cm round cake tin with removable base. Line the base with baking paper.
3. Place sugar and water in a small saucepan and warm gently until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat slightly and continue to cook until the liquid turns a light amber/caramel colour.
4. Pour the sugar liquid into the cake tin and swirl around the base.
5. Place the peeled and quartered pears on the cake tin base, with points touching in the centre to form a flower pattern.
6. Beat together the eggs, brown sugar, vanilla essence and zests. Add the melted butter to the mixture.
7. Mix the flour into the batter mixture, and then place spoonfuls of the mixture over the pears, aiming to completely cover the pears, but not disturbing their positioning.
8. Bake in the oven for 30 -40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre.
9. Remove from the oven and carfeully invert onto a plate when still warm. You may that the toffee runs a little or sticks to the paper base. Pull the toffee off and place as shards on the cake surface.