Pear Tart with Lavender

I was inspired to this tarte by a wonderful French film called "The Sense of Wonder". The German title, quite interestingly, is "Pear Cake with Lavender", so that's where this idea is coming from.
It is a beautiful movie about a recently widowed fruit farmer and her daily struggles, situated in southern France.
This summery tarte brings you all the lovely scents and flavours of the Provence region.

For a 22-24cm tart you will need:

• 200g flour
• 50g caster sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 110g cold butter, cubed
• 50ml cold water

For the filling you will need:

• 100ml heavy cream
• 5 stalks of organic lavender
• 50g flour
• 1 egg
• 50g caster sugar
• 5 pear-halves (canned)

Method:

1. Wash lavender and steep in the cream for at least 2 hours.

2. For the shortcrust pastry, combine flour, sugar, salt and cold butter with a few blitzes of your blender. 

3. Add cold water and blitz some more. Shape into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill for one hour.

4. Roll out the pastry to match your tart pan. Grease pan and cover with pastry. Remove excess. Prick with a fork several times. Blind bake at 180°C for about 15 minutes and 5 more minutes uncovered.

5. For the filling, combine flour and egg, add sugar and lavender cream (without buds) and give it a good mix until the sugar has dissolved.

6. Cut pears into slices, arrange them on the crust and pour the filling over them. If you like, decorate with lavender.

7. Bake at 170°C for about 20 minues.