Brandied Pear and Pecan Tart with Maple Caramel Sauce

So since I started playing around with  my new OXO hand-held mandoline slicer (check out my baked ratatouille post to enter for a chance to win one yourself!), I started thinking about making some sort of pretty, delicious dessert.  I got the idea for this slightly naughty pear tart, and totally went to town.

For the shortbread crust, I used the recipe that goes with the lemon squares in The Savannah Cookbook, and I halved the maple caramel sauce recipe I found at ChefShop.com.  But when it came to the pear and pecan filling, I used my standard pecan pie recipe as a base point and then sort of winged it.

This is the sort of recipe requiring "phases of baking", as you have to make and bake the shortbread crust, then bake the tart with the filling, then make the caramel sauce.  It took me about two hours in the end, but the result was worth it.

I realize not everyone likes brandy, so if you fall into that camp, just double the amount of vanilla used.