A friend of mine gave me a jar of peaches preserved in brandy for Christmas. They looked great so I left them on display in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what to do with them so there they sat for six months on the shelf. Having invited friends for dinner I needed to plan a dessert. Something not too time-consuming. How about a prune and almond tart with Agen prunes soaked in brandy? Great idea, but having neither prunes nor brandy in the larder I thought I would try and make the same tart but with brandy soaked peaches instead.
This would also work well with pear halves (with or without the booze). Served warm straight out of the oven with ice cream, it didn’t last long.
For the pastry
200g plain flour
100g butter – softened
1 large egg
Rub the butter and flour together to form a breadcrumb-like mxturee..Add the egg and knead gently to form a dough. Let te dooh rest for half an hour or so then roll it, line a flan dish with it, then blind bake at 200C for 20 minutes. Brush the base with a little egg.
For the filling
1 jar of preserved peach halves
50g ground almonds
50g caster sugar
200ml tub crème fraiche
1 egg
Drain the peaches and arrange them on the pastry base, flat side down.
Mix the almonds, sugar and crème fraiche, then add the egg. Pour over the peaches, then bake for about 45 minutes at 190C. Remove from tin and serve warm.
