I think tarts are an under appreciated art form. The sweet, tender crust is the perfect frame for just about any filling. This pear almond tart features poached pears laying in a bed of almond cream and surrounded by toasted almonds. The flavor combination is classically French and looks sophisticated enough to be served at any special occasion. But, it’s really quite simple to create and there’s no reason not to have it on a Tuesday or for breakfast or as an after school snack.
This pear almond tart was my Thanksgiving dessert offering this year. Along with the tart I served Poached Pear Ginger Cake and Caramel Apple Pumpkin Pie.
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (90g) confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (200g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 1 tsp lemon or orange zest
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp water more if it isn't coming together
- 4 Poached Bosc or Bartlett Pears there are only 3 in the tart I made and I think it needed one more.
- 1 cup almond cream (frangipane)
- 1 cup toasted almonds crushed
- 1 tbsp sugar for dusting over the top
Instructions
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is cut into the flour and you can no longer see pieces. The flour will still be powdery. Pulse in the zest. Add the yolk and water, mix until the dough comes together. Pour it onto the counter and knead until it is a smooth ball. Wrap and refrigerator until it is well chilled, at least an hour. Can be made 2 days in advance or frozen for up to a month.
- Roll out the tart dough to fit a 9-inch tart pan and blind bake it until golden brown (you can see directions on rolling and blind baking here).
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Fill the baked shell with almond cream. Slice the poached pears in half (leaving the stem on), make thin slices of pears, leaving them together, so you can still see their form. Place them over the almond cream. Sprinkle the toasted almonds around the edge, dust the whole tart with the sugar and bake until the almond cream is puffed and golden. It will take about 20 minutes, give or take, depending on if your frangipane was cold or if you just mixed it up before filling the tart shell.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This tart is so beautiful! I love almond and pear combined together and I’m sure this tart is simply delicious ♥
Hi Natalie,
Thank you, I adore pears and don’t use them nearly enough!
Cheers, Zoë
I love love how gorgeous this one is! I feel like I always forget about pears, so this is lovely!
Hi Abby,
I really only use pears at this time of year and I always forget how much I love them!
Zoë
Love your baking and your videos!!!
Anat
This tart is such a beauty! Love the combination of pears and almonds, always so satisfying and delicious!
Great recipe ! Thanks for sharing us,.
Just beautiful recipes!
I love all your recipes!
Hello Zoe! I absolutely adore your recipes! I have a question on this one, for how many people is it?
Hi Andrea,
I’d say 8 large pieces.
Thanks, Zoë
Some of the directions seem to be missing–how to poach pears, how long to bake??
Hi Barbara, you can find the instructions on how to poach the pears in the ingredient list (it links to here: http://zoebakes.com/2012/11/08/chai-poached-pears-and-sorbet/). The blog post mentions to bake until the almond cream is puffed and golden.
Can you please give an approximation of the bake time. Aside from the visual cues. Thank you
Hi Scarlett, it will depend on if your frangipane is cold or if you’ve just mixed it, but about 20 minutes give or take depending on the temperature of the filling. I hope this helps!