I love inviting people over for dinner. There is something so exciting about having a group of people over, and connecting over a good meal. Sure, by the end of it after shopping, unpacking, prepping, cooking, cleaning and then entraining for a few hours – I am dead tired. Happy, but tired. That’s why I love making delicious food that looks complex and fancy but actually is really not so hard and doesn’t even take so long to make. This pear and almond cream tart is just a perfect example of that because you can make most of it in advance and just puzzle it all together quickly.
If like me, you’re not an fan of apple pies, don’t be intimidated by pears. This is really, nothing like it. The pears have add a very light fruity taste and a nice crisp (not mushy) texture. Combined with the almond cream and the flaky pie crust, you get an incredible flavor combination that steals the show, every time.
Beware of adorable tart lovers
Last week I had some friends over, I knew right away this was the tart to complete dinner on a sweet and special tone. Appearanly Pi, my 1.5 year old Golden Retriver and my #1 fan in the kitchen, also thought so. I had two of these perfectly shiny and fragrant tarts waiting on my kitchen counter, and then we went out to get some wine, real quick, you know?
Well, I came back to find two pear and almond cream tart molds upside down on the kitchen floor, no tarts. No crumbs either. Safe to say we had ice cream and some fruit as desser for that dinner, and as for Pi, well… I can’t really blame him, it is a hard tart to resist 😉
Here is the tart thief himself ❤
Make it yourself
So, just how easy is it to whip up this gorgeous French patisserie looking tart? You can split it to three phases
First, the pears are poached in the most delicious vanilla, spices and Amaretto liquor, then kept overnight in the fridge
Then you make the base tart using my Easy Home Made Tart Base recipe, which you can also make in advance and roll out whenever you’re ready.
And finally, just mix up some Frangipane (Almond Cream) which takes less than 5 minutes, and put it all together!
The result is just incredible, it’s not too sweet and it looks so beautiful and professional, just look at those layers! It’s perfect to make a day in advance because it keeps fresh and doesn’t need special cooling, so perfect for a picnic or special treat at work.
I adapted the incredibly easy recipe of one of my favorite food bloggers, Marine from Let the baking begin! who makes it with puff pastry, which I never tried but I’m sure makes a great combination too.
- 6-7 Medium Pears (firm, but ripe), peeled, halved and cored
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup granulated sugar (white or brown)
- Lemon juice from one lemon (2-3 tablespoons)
- 1 cup Amaretto liqueur
- 1 vanilla bean, split or 5 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 star anise
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves (optional)
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 245g All Purpose Flour
- 40g Ground Almonds (Almond flour)
- 75g Powered Sugar
- 170g Cold Butter, cut in cubes
- 1 Large Egg
- 125g unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs - room temperature,
- ¾ cup finely ground almonds (or almond flour)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Zest of 1 tangerine (optional)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Handfull Sliced Almonds
- 1 Jar Apricot Jam
- In a large pot, combine sugar with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, star anise, and lemon, stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Peel the pears and split them in half, removing the core. Add the pears to the liquid and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer the pears until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes (make sure not to over cook so the pears don’t become too soft) . Remove pot from heat and let the pears cool in their liquid at room temperature, then transfer with the liquid to an airtight container and keep for 24 hours or up to 1 week.
- In a food processor, put together the flour, ground almonds and powdered sugar until fine powder
- Add butter cubes and pulse a couple times, until a chunky, sandy texture (we want small pieces of butter to remain visible)
- Add Egg and pulse a few more times until you see it’s formed into big pieces of soft dough
- Combine the dough together with your hands into a disk and wrap it with saran wrap, do it quickly so the butter doesn’t melt from the warmth of your hands. Place in the fridge for at least 30 min (or up to 3 days)
- Heat oven to 180 C
- Flour you surface and roll out your dough to about 3mm thick. Gently pick up the rolled though and line your pie pan with it, pushing the dough into the corners with your thumb.
- Poke the dough with a fork all around the bottom and place it back in the refrigerator for an additional 30 minutes.
- Blind Bake for 15 minutes, remove the pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Cool completely before filling or removing from the pan
- Beat the softened butter and sugar for 2 minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
- Add the ground almonds and beat on medium speed until blended
- Break the eggs in a separate bowl and add them one at a time on medium-low speed, beating well after each addition.
- Add the 3 tablespoons of flour, vanilla, almond and tangerine zest. Beat on low speed until just incorporated
- Heat Oven to 180C
- Fill your tart crust with the almond cream
- Cut the pears into thin strips, length wise and arrange them any way you like on the tart, I did in circular motion.
- Sprinkle some sliced almonds on top and cover with aluminum paper, down side oiled with non stick spray.
- Place in Oven for about 45 minutes until almond cream has risen in the middle between the fruit pieces. Remove the aluminum paper and brown the top for an additional 10 minutes in the oven
- While in the oven: Heat up the Apricot Jam until liquid and strain to remove pieces of fruit.
- When the tart comes out, brush it (generously) with the strained jam while still hot, then return to the oven for 2-3 more minutes, letting the jam caramelize a bit (keep a close eye so it doesn’t burn)
- Cool to room temperature and keep away from hungry golden retrievers! 🙂
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