This delicious, sugar-crusted pie filled with pears and raspberries, that turn pinky/red when cooked, definitely says “made with love” on Valentine's Day!
Remember - if you're stuck for time, or if your love only stretches so far, you can always use ready-made shortcrust pastry instead of making the Paté Brisée. Happy Valentine's Day!
ingredients:
Paté Brisée:
340g Plain Flour, sieved
165g Unsalted Butter, cut into cubes and chilled
1.5 teaspoon Sugar
1.5 teaspoon Salt (omit if you are using salted butter)
Iced Water
or,
2 sheets of ready made and rolled shortcrust pastry
Pie Filling:
125g granulated sugar
3 tablespoon corn flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 ripe pears [approx 1.3kg]
250g fresh raspberries
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
To Glaze:
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
sugar for sprinkling on top of pie
You will also need:
9 inch pie dish & a heart shaped cutter
parchment paper
To serve:
freshly whipped cream or ice-cream
Makes one 9-inch pie
method:
Make the Pastry: 
Put the flour, sugar and salt into a food processor and blitz for 15 seconds to combine. Add the cubed butter into the mixture and blitz again until you get coarse breadcrumbs. With the blade running, slowly add iced water, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture is combined and starts coming together.
Take the dough out of the food processor and roll into a ball with your hands. If it feels a bit wet add a small bit of sieved flour and knead together. (Drier pastry gives a shorter/crisper crust. Wetter pastry is easier to handle but gives a tougher crust that may shrink!)
Divide the pastry into 2 balls, flatten into a disc with your hands, wrap each one with cling film and put into the fridge to chill for one hour. (If you’re in a rush 30 minutes should do the trick)
Prep the Pastry:
One lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to a 13-inch circle. Put the dough into the 9-inch pie dish and trim the dough, leaving a ¼ inch overhang [to allow for shrinkage].
Chill or freeze until firm, approximately 30 minutes.
Roll out the second disk of pastry to about 11 inches in diameter. Cut out a heart shaped pattern into your pastry. [I made quite a geometric pattern but you can also use different sized cutters and make a random heart cut-out pattern.] Transfer the cut-out dough to a parchment lined baking sheet and chill or freeze for 30 minutes until firm.
Prepare the filling:
In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, corn flour, salt and cinnamon. Peel, core and slice the pears and add them, the raspberries and the lemon juice to the bowl as well. Gently toss the mixture together.
Assemble the pie:
Spoon the mixture into the pie shell, piling the fruit into the middle. Dot the filling with butter.
Lightly brush the edge of the pie shell with water, then drape the top crust over the filling, taking care to centre the design. Trim the dough, leaving a ¼ inch overhang. Tuck the overhand under the bottom crust, flush with the trim, then seal the edge. Whisk the egg yolk with the water in a small bowl, then lightly brush the whole pie crust with egg wash. Sprinkle the pie top with the sugar. Chill or freeze until firm, approximately 30 minutes.
Cook the pie:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Place the chilled pie on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake in the bottom third of the oven until the crust is golden, approximately 20-30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180°C/360°F and bake until the crust is golden-brown and the juices are bubbling, about 50 - 60 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack and completely cool before serving.
