Pear Frangipane Tart
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • Tart crust (this is a sweet pastry crust and it is lovely, but feel free to buy traditional pie dough if you want to skip this step)
  • 1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling out
  • ⅓ cup unbleached cane sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 Tablespoons ice water
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ____________________________
  • Frangipane: This frangipane is not a traditional recipe, but instead uses more almond meal and less butter.
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ⅔ cup unbleached granulated cane sugar or maple sugar (darker sugars will darken the filling)
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 2 Tablespoons dark rum (optional but gives a rich flavor)
  • 8 ounces (2 cups) almond flour or almond meal or weigh 8 ounces of almonds and process them in a food processor until finely ground.
  • 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour or your favorite GF flour blend (optional - makes the filling a little lighter, but totally not essential)
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • Zest from ½ small lemon (optional)
  • 3 poached pears, halved (you can do this from scratch or buy them - make it easy on yourself and get store-bought; if you have very ripe, raw pears, just peel and core them, slice and place on the tart filling)
  • ____________________________
  • Apricot Glaze (optional but really makes the tart look professional):
  • ⅓ cup apricot preserves
  • ½ tablespoon Cognac, Calvados, Rum or Water
  • (or just brush lightly with maple syrup)
Instructions
  1. Make the pastry: You can do this by hand, in a bowl with a mixer with the paddle attachment, or with a food processor. Combine the flour, sugar and salt.
  2. Add the cubed butter and turn on the mixer or food processor (using pulse button) and combine until the butter is in the size of small peas. You are not looking to blend the flour and butter, just “cut” the butter into tiny pieces.
  3. Whisk together the egg yolk, ice water, and vanilla and pour into the flour-butter mixture. Mix until just moistened. If you see little pieces of butter, that’s totally fine.
  4. Pull together the dough into a disc and roll it out right away if it’s not greasy or warm, or wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
  5. Roll out on countertop dusted with flour into a 12-inch diameter. Fold in half and put in a 9- or 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press into the pan and up the sides. Trim off any excess. Cover and freeze or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prick the pastry with a fork, place on a baking sheet, line the top of the pastry with parchment or foil and fill with pastry weights (I use old dried beans.) Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights. If the pastry looks a little wet, bake for another 5-10 minutes or until pale golden.
  7. While the tart crust is baking, prepare the filling and pears.
  8. Make the frangipane filling: In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until combined well and smooth. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts and the rum, if you’re using it.
  9. Stir in the almond flour, all-purpose flour, and salt, and mix until just combined. Stir in the lemon zest if using.
  10. Drain the pears and pat dry with paper towels. Slice crosswise into 6 pieces.
  11. Spread the frangipane filling over the prebaked crust. Slide a metal spatula underneath each sliced pear half and press on the pear slices to fan out. Transfer on top of the filling. I like to place the smaller end toward the center, but you can arrange the sliced pears as you like.
  12. Place tart pan carefully on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees or until puffed and golden brown, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
  13. Optional step: brush the top of the tart with apricot glaze or maple syrup to add a glossy look.
  14. Cool completely before serving. Can be made a day in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temp before serving. I even froze it and defrosted it overnight in the fridge and brought it to room temp.
Notes
Apricot Glaze: In a small saucepan heat the apricot preserves to a simmer. Remove from heat
and strain to get rid of lumps. Add the Cognac or water. Brush all over the warm tart with a pastry brush. You just want a thin coating of jam for shine and finish. Remove from the pan and serve warm or at room temp.
If you use almonds with the skin or natural almond meal, the frangipane is a little darker. No big deal, but it will look different from a frangipane made with almond flour or blanched almonds.
You can also grind your own almonds in the food processor for this recipe which is a little cheaper than buying almond flour.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/pear-frangipane-tart-recipe/