Method

1. First make the caramel sauce. In a saucepan heat the caster sugar until it turns a dark brown colour; this will take 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the cream and butter and whisk until all the ingredients have come together. Chill over an ice bath until required.

2. For the apple puree, split the vanilla bean in half and scrape the outsides. Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan then cover with aluminium foil. Bring the ingredients to a simmer and cook for approximately 10 to 15 minutes until soft. When cooked, drain the excess liquid, remove the vanilla bean then puree with a stick blender. Pass the puree through a fine sieve then chill over an ice bath until required. Spoon into a squeeze bottle.

3. Pre-heat oven at 200˚C (180˚C). In a bowl beat the marzipan, egg white, vanilla extract and flour until smooth. Roll the puff pastry out onto a floured work surface to a rectangle about 16cm by 22 cm, the pastry should be no thicker than half cm. Place the pastry onto a baking paper-lined tray. Spread a thin layer of the marzipan all over the puff pastry.

4. Peel the Bosc pears and cut in half through the stem and core. Using a teaspoon or melon scoop remove the core. Slice the pear halves about 2-3mm thick. Lay the pear slices over-lapping each other onto the puff pastry. Cover all the pastry with the pear. Sprinkle over the sugar and melted butter and bake the pastry in a pre-heated oven at 200˚C for 15 minutes.

5. Whilst the tart is cooking bring to the boil the water, sugar, Pernod, fennel seeds and juice of half a lemon. Peel and remove the core from the paradise pears, place in the syrup and simmer until tender; this will take approximately 10 minutes.

6. For the crumble mix, Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Place all the ingredients into a bowl then rub the butter into the dry ingredients until a bread crumb consistency has been achieved. Place covered in the fridge until required.
Place the crumbs onto a baking tray and bake in the oven until golden brown. Continually check the crumble mixture while it is baking to ensure they cook evenly.

7. Remove the tart from the oven. Spoon over half of the caramel sauce evenly over the tart. Place a sheet of baking paper on top of the tart and then place a baking tray on top. Flip the tart over so the sliced pear would be on the bottom of the tray. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Remove the tart from the oven and flip over again. Remove the tart from the baking sheet to a chopping board. The pears should be golden brown and caramelized.

8. Squeeze a line of the apple puree along the plate in a zig zag no wider than the tart. Cut the tart into fingers 3-4cm by 7cm. Stack 2 slices of the tart on top of each other and place on the line of puree. Drain the paradise pear place on a plate. Spoon a teaspoon of the cold caramel sauce onto the plate and drag it slightly. Next place one spoon of the crumble mix on plate, quenelle a spoonful of cream and sit on top of the crumble.  Using a paring knife cut a tiny slit into the pear and poke in a frond of fennel in the pear and serve.