Add the flour and mix by hand briefly, until well blended.

Make a sphere out of the dough and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Peel the pears and scoop out the center part.

Cut the pears in slices of about a 1/4 inch (½ cm).

Brown the pears on the stove top in a heavy pan with two tablespoons of butter.

Stir softly, but steadily and add 1/3 of the sugar part-way through cooking. The cooking time will depend the variety of pear that you selected.

Check cooking status with a sharp knife - the slices should be soft. Remove from the heat.

Spread your dough in your baking tin with your fingers, and place the dish in a hot oven for 10 minutes at a temperature of 350F° (180C°).

Remove from the oven and arrange the pear slices on top of the dough.

In a bowl, whisk together 1 egg, the cream and the balance of the sugar.

Pour this mixture over the pears and put your pan in a hot oven for 30 minutes at the same temperature.

Take out of the oven and let the tart cool, before serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.