Pear frangipane tart

overhead view of pear frangipane tart dusted with powdered sugar.

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4.67 from 3 votes

Tender pear, a sweet nutty filling and crisp pastry - this tart is elegant and delicious.

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

cooling time (min)1 30

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings: or more

Calories: 610kcal

Author: Caroline

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Ingredients

For the pastry

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour plain flour
¼ cup almond flour
1 pinch salt
¼ cup sugar
7 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg yolk

For the filling

6 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter softened to room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
14 tablespoon almond flour (14 tablespoon is ¾ cup plus 2 tbsp)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 pears see notes, or 3 if small

Instructions

For the pastry base

Mix together the flour, almond flour, salt and sugar. Rub in the butter to create crumbs. Add the egg yolk and mix to bring the mixture together. If it doesn't quite come together, add up to around 1 tablespoon (15ml) water or egg white. Flatten the dough into a thin disc, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, but ideally nearer 1 hour.
Roll out the pastry on parchment then turn it over into a 9 inch (23cm) diameter tart pan/tin with removable base. Press the pastry into the edges, smooth any cracks then trim around the top edge so smooth around the rim. Prick the surface with a fork then chill for another hour - if you are short on time, you can speed up by giving around 10 - 15 minutes in the freezer as you preheat the oven.
Preheat oven to 375F/190C and place the tart pan/tin on a baking sheet/tray. Line the pastry case with parchment and then add baking beans to bake it blind for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment and beans and bake another 3 - 5 minutes until it looks dry.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before filling.

For the filling

Cream together the softened butter and sugar until light, creamy and glossy in a stand mixer, or with a hand mixture (an immersion blender also works not too badly).
Add the eggs, one at a time, and blend in, then add in the almond flour, vanilla and almond extracts. Mix so well combined. Scoop the mixture into the cooled, part-cooked pastry base and spread it evenly right to the edges.
Peel, cut the pears in half and remove core. Slice the pears horizontally and arrange on top of the almond cream mixture - you don't need to press them in really as the mixture will rise up around them. If you can, arrange the halves so the stem ends are in the middle and they fan out, but you can also arrange halves in a triangle then use other slices in the middle, as I did here since the pears were larger.
Bake for approximately 30 - 40 minutes until the almond filling is golden. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the tart pan. Serve either warm or cold, optionally with a dusting of powdered sugar (icing sugar).

Notes

You want to use ripe, tender pears for this, but you have a couple options - if they are relatively soft and ripe, you can use them as they are. For a more certain softness, and if a little less ripe, poach them first - peel but leave whole and with stem in. Place around 3 cups (720ml) of water in a pan that will hold the pears snugly. Add 2 - 4 tablespoon (30 - 60ml) sugar and 1 tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice. Warm to dissolve the sugar then add the pears. Bring to a simmer and cook around 10 minutes until they are tender, then carefully remove with a slotted spoon and let cool.

I have also made this with added dried cranberries in with the almond cream (as was originally shared) which adds a little more texture and color, if you want to try similar.

You can optionally scatter a few slices almonds on top of the almond cream before baking as well.

Nutrition

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