Pear Frangipane Tart

5 from 6 votes

This pear frangipane tart makes a stunning presentation for a special dinner dessert and can be served warm or cold with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream which is my choice of topping.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time1

Total Time2 30

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pear Frangipane Tart

Servings:

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST

2 cups flour (240 grams
½ cup confectioners' sugar (60 grams)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
12 tablespoons butter
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon whipping cream

FRANGIPANE FILLING:

8 ounces of almond paste
8 tablespoons butter 1 cube
¾ cup confectioners' sugar (75 grams)
⅓ cup all-purpose flour (90 grams)
¼ cup ground almonds
2 large eggs

FOR THE PEARS:

2 quarts cold water
Juice of one lemon
5 pears sliced ⅛-inch thick
½ cup apple jelly

Instructions

For the crust:

Place the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk, vanilla, and whipping cream to the dry ingredients. Pulse until it resembles wet sand.
Place the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Using the plastic, gather the dough into a ball and press it together into a disc. Wrap with the plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough into a 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and lightly pierce the surface, including the sides, with a fork. Place the tart pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Prepare the frozen crust for a blind-bake by using parchment paper and pie weights/beans. Set the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, transfer from the oven and remove the pie weights and parchment paper. Let the crust cool until ready to use.

To make the frangipane filling:

With a paddle attachment, beat the almond paste, butter, confectioner’s sugar, flour, and ground almonds in a mixing bowl until smooth. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Spread the frangipane filling evenly over the cooled baked crust, smoothing the top and set aside while you prepare the pears.

Prepare the pears:

In a shallow bowl or pan, add 2 quarts of cold water and the juice from 1 lemon. Wash and dry the pears and slice them lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices. adding the slices to the lemon water as you slice them. After all the pears are sliced and in the water, remove them and place them on a clean kitchen towel and blot the excess water off.

Assemble the tart:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Set the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange the fruit slices in an overlapping pattern on the frangipane. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the frangipane is bubbling and the filling is firm.
If you want to glaze the tart, heat 1/2 cup of apple jelly until melted, then brush the glaze over the tart. Or, you can dust with confectioners' sugar when the tart has cooled or just leave the tart as is.

Notes

The pears may not all be the same length, if you have a hole in the center where the tips of the pear slices do not meet you can cut a round slice of pear to fill in the gap.
Begin slicing the pear at the side working toward the center, slice out and discard the center section with the core.
If you choose to slice the pears thicker than 1/8-inch the slices should be lightly poached and drained. Thick slices of raw pears will release too much juice on the top of the tart as they bake.
To remove the core from a whole pear: insert an appetizer spoon or small paring knife at the bottom of the pear and scoop the core out. When adding the slices to the tart overlap the slices to cover the cored portion.

Nutrition