Peach tart with amaretto custard

Makes: 8

Prep: 15 minutes (plus 20 minutes chilling time)

Cook: 75 minutes

Ingredients:

• 375g ready-rolled shortcrust pastry
• 50g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
• 411g tin peach slices in light syrup
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g unsalted butter, softened
• 100g ground almonds
• 2 Love Local eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50g flaked almonds

Option extras, to serve:

• 400g can custard
• 2 tbsp amaretto liqueur
• 1 tbsp cornflour

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas 4. Unroll the pastry and discard the paper. Fold the pastry in half. Lightly dust a work surface with flour, then roll out the pastry and use to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Leave in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
2. Drain the peaches, reserving the syrup (this should be about 100ml). Arrange the peaches on several layers of kitchen roll. Cover with more kitchen roll and pat dry to remove as much excess syrup as possible (you may need to do this a few times).
3. Line the pastry case with baking paper, add baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes until the pastry is dry to the touch.
4. Mix together the sugar, softened butter, ground almonds, eggs, baking powder and flour until creamy. Spread over the pastry base to cover. Scatter over the peach slices and flaked almonds and bake for 35-40 minutes until risen and golden brown.
5. You can serve with plain custard. Or for an extra treat, pour the custard into a saucepan and add the reserved syrup. Mix the amaretto liqueur with the cornflour until smooth and stir into the custard mixture. Heat gently, stirring, until thickened and smooth.

TIP:

Use thawed, frozen shortcrust pastry instead. It comes in 500g blocks so you will only need to use two-thirds of the block. The leftover pastry can be wrapped in cling film or baking paper and stored in the fridge for two days before using. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line the tart tin as below.