Fanned out fruit inside a buttery pastry shell and covert with a spongy almond cake, this Pear Almond Frangipane Tart is amazing. This slice of heaven tastes like a bite of France and will wow your guests with it’s gorgeous looks and flavor.
Tart Pan
Pastry Blender
The first time I tried this pastry was at a Friendsgiving. I felt like I died and went to heaven! It was one of those moments where all you can think about is how to get the recipe, so your joy can last longer. It was intense to make, but worth every bite. You can use drained canned pears, plums, rhubarb or even cherries with this recipe. I liked poaching the pears because I could control how soft they got, but it does add a little more work. The Pear Almond Frangipane Tart’s crust is one of my favorite parts because it’s practically fool proof. Since it’s baked before the filling, you can use the crust recipe for cream tarts, fruit tarts, etc. It might be fun to mini tarts with this recipe and use just a half pear as the center. It would look absolutely gorgeous for a dinner party.
Pear Almond Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold)
- 1 egg yolk
- Makes enough for a 9-10" tart pan
- 3 poached pears (or canned pears)
- 2/3 cups blanched almond slivers
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter (room temp)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or 2 teaspoons brandy)
For the tart crust
For the filling
Directions
- To start the tart crust, mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. Cut the butter into pieces and toss them into the food processor. Pulse the mixture until the butter is coarsely cut into the dry ingredients. Break the yolk in a separate bowl and stir into the mixture slowly. Process the entire mixture in the food processor until the dough is formed.
- Knead the crust, very lightly. You don't want to overwork the dough. Knead just to combine all the ingredients together that may not have combined well in the food processor. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
- Lightly butter your tart pan. Roll out chilled dough on parchment paper until it forms a 12" round. Turn the dough into the tart pan and slowly peel off the parchment paper. If your dough cracked during this process, seal the cracks, trim the overhang, and pierce the crust bottom with a fork multiple times.
- Place the tart pan and crust in a freezer for at least 30-60 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375.
- Butter the shinier side of a large piece of aluminum foil. Place the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the tart pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake for 10 more minutes. Allow the crust to cool to room temperature.
- Poach your pears using this recipe and technique.
- Blanch your almonds for about 1 minute, peel off skin, and place in a food processor, with the flour, until finely ground. Mix in sugar, butter, egg, and flavorings. Blend until smooth. Chill in a covered bowl for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 and spread the almond filling onto the baked and cooled tart crust. Slice your poached pears and use a spatula to place them on top of the tart. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a knife comes out of the tart clean.
- Serve in wedges with a little powdered sugar.
- Enjoy!
For the filling
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