● Cream butter and caster sugar together until soft

● Fold in the egg

● Then add the flour and bring it all together with your hand into a ball.

● Cut ball in three & put together again - do this twice.

● You can divide the pastry into two pieces at this point. This will give you two large flan bases.

● Flatten both pieces into an oval (the size of your hand) and wrap in cling film. Put in fridge for at least 20 minutes.

● Roll out your pastry into a rough circle, quite thin, and roll it round the rolling pin.

The pastry will keep for at least ten days or you can freeze it.

Depending on the size you are making use either half a cup or a whole cup of icing sugar and the same of melted butter.

● Prepare your fruit - apples or pears - by peeling, quartering and coring.

● Using a cast iron fry pan put on lowish heat.

● After a minute sprinkle the icing sugar into the pan and place fruit (rounded side down) on top. It should sizzle!

● Pour in the butter (you might not need it all, ditto the icing sugar) and let bubble slowly, you do need to watch it. You are cooking the fruit as well as making the toffee.

● When you are sure you have a good toffee colour whip it off the burner, put the pastry on top. Tuck in in if necessary and put in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes (cover with foil if browning too much.)

● Remove from oven. Put pan onto wooden chopping board and using a dinner plate, put on top of the pan. With a big oven cloth all over, hold the board and the plate and flip it over. Give it a sharp bang, and it should drop out cleanly. If anything is stuck just lift it out carefully and put it in it’s rightful place, and scrape any remaining caramel over the top. (Do this straight away before the caramel hardens.)

Serve with pouring cream at the end of the evening!