Pear Frangipane Tart with Almond Earl Grey Crust
This tart is all about balance— the fork-tender poached pears, the nutty almond crust and that decadent buttery zingy frangipane. There are a few steps here, I’m not gonna lie, so to spread out some of the work load, poach the pears ahead of time and store them whole in their poaching liquid. You can also make the frangipane up to a week ahead as well and store in the fridge. But the reward is definitely photo-worthy— oh and, your taste buds will thank you as well. Serve solo or with a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraiche if you’d like. Oh yes, one more thing— those poached pears are perfect served on their own with a spoonful of the poaching liquid and a dollop of mascarpone.
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
Crust
2 ½ cups almond meal
¼ tsp Kosher salt
1 tbsp earl grey tea leaves
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cane sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature and cut into pieces
Poached Pears
3 pears (Bosc or Anjou)
6 cups white wine
1 cup organic cane sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 strips lemon peel
Half a lemon
Almond Frangipane
1 stick softened butter
1 cup almond flour
½ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp AP flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp lemon zest
METHOD
For the Crust
Preheat oven to 350F.
In the bowl of a food processor, add almond flour, salt, tea leaves, cinnamon and sugar and pulse 2-3 times to combine. Add butter and pulse 6-8 times to combine, making sure to scrape down sides half way thru. Dough will be quite sticky.
Turn dough out into a 9” fluted tart pan with removable bottom and use hands or bottom of a glass to press into pan.
Place tart pan on sheet pan and into oven and blind bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
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For the Frangipane
In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low and add almond flour and egg, alternating each, and mix until just combined. Add vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Can be made up to 1 week in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
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For the Poached Pears
Combine wine and sugar in a medium pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer until sugar is dissolved. Add cinnamon, vanilla, lemon peel and lemon half.
Peel pears, leaving stems on and gently lower into wine mixture. If pears are not totally submerged, add some water. Simmer for 10-13 minutes, gently rotating every so often so all parts of pear are poached in liquid. When pears are tender and easily pierced with the tip of a knife, remove from stove and allow to cool in liquid. Pears can be poached up to 2 days in advance and stored in their poaching liquid in an airtight container in the fridge.
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Assembly
Preheat oven to 375F.
Place the tart shell pan on a sheet pan. Spread Frangipane in an even layer in tart shell using an offset spatula. Cut pears in half and, using a melon baller or tablespoon, scoop out the core, along with any stem. With the flat side of the pear on the board, cut crosswise into ¼” slices. Use a spatula to carefully lift the cut pear and gently fan the slices out on the Frangipane in a swirled design. Bake for 40 minutes or until frangipane has puffed up and is golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a rack to cool. When cool, carefully remove sides of pan and place carefully onto serving platter. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with a dollop of mascarpone or vanilla ice cream.