Pear dartois with brandy custard

450g of puff pastry, (2 x 225g blocks)

225g of sugar

4 egg yolks, beaten with a splash of water to make an egg wash

icing sugar

30g of golden caster sugar

80g of blanched almonds

1 tbsp of plain flour

1/2 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped out

75g of caster sugar

4 pears, peeled, cut in half lengthways and core removed)

30g of butter, at room temperature

1 small egg

175ml of milk

125ml of double cream

50ml of brandy, preferably Cognac