Almond and Pear Flan

8 oz flour
6 oz butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
1 vanilla bean, scraped

For the Pie Filling:
4 pears
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean
6 1/2 oz almond paste
5 1/2 oz vanilla sugar
5 oz room temperature butter
2 large eggs
2 1/4 oz flour
1 vanilla bean, scraped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For the pastry, mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and vanilla and cut it together with a knife until the consistency is like cornmeal. Add the egg and milk and just mix together. Bring the dough together finally with your hands. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and allow it to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

For the Pie Filling:
Peel 4 pears and put them in a large saucepan with the water, 200 grams of sugar and the whole vanilla bean. Bring the pan slowly to a simmer over a low heat and poach until soft, about 20 minutes. Let cool, quarter and core.

For the pie filling, beat the almond paste, sugar, vanilla seed and eggs with a hand beater or a whisk in a large mixing bowl until pale. Add the butter and whip together. Fold in the flour and mix well.

Roll out the dough and line a 12-inch removable-rim flan pan with dough and let it rest. Line the flan with parchment paper and fill with baking beans.

Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes until light brown. Let cool.

Spread the almond filling in the pre-baked shell. Place the pears in the almond filling.

Bake at 300 Farenheit for about one hour.

Glaze with apple or apricot jelly.