Pear, Vanilla and Almond Frangipane Tart
adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours
Makes one 9-inch tart {I made a 10″ tart}
Pâte Sablée
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered vanilla sugar / confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoon butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolkPoached Pears
4 ripe medium pears
3 cups water
1 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 cinnamon stick
5-6 cloves
1 vanilla bean scraped
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup vanilla sugar
1 cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
1 vanilla bean scraped {or 1 tsp vanilla extract}
1 teaspoons almond extract
For the pears :
Combine the water, sugar, lime juice, cinnamon stick, cloves, vanilla bean including scraped portion, and salt in a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, cut the pears in half, remove the seed core and fibrous cores at either end, then peel the pears.
Add the pear halves to the simmering syrup and reduce heat to low. Cover, and let pears poach for about 10 minutes, turning them halfway. The pears will become slightly translucent, very tender, and easily pierced with a knife or skewer. {Make sure they don’t get overstewed}
Let the pears cool in the liquid until room temperature before using; or, you can store them in their liquid in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For the tart shell
Put the flour, vanilla sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the pieces of cold butter and pulse until the butter is cut into pea-sized pieces. Add the egg yolk and combine in several pulses until the dough starts to turn from dry to clumpy. Do not let the dough form one giant ball or it will be be overworked – just keep checking after every pulse and when the dough pieces looks like they will stick when you press them together, stop.
Tart shell:
Butter a 9-in tart tin with removable bottom. Turn the dough out into the tin and press into the bottom and up the sides with your fingers. You probably will not need all the dough – save the extra for patching the shell after you bake it. Do not press the dough too hard or it will become tough – just enough for it to form to the tin.
Freeze the tart shell for at least 30 minutes. When you are ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 190C.
To partially bake the tart shell, take a piece of foil and butter the shiny side, then press the buttered side tightly to the shell. You do not need pie weights. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, until the shell is dry and lightly colored. If any places have cracked, repair with the extra dough. Let cool on a rack until room temperature.
For the frangipane:
Combine the butter and sugar in the food processor and combine until smooth. Add the ground almonds and blend together. Add the flour and cornstarch, and then the scraped innards of the vanilla bean, almond extract, egg and egg white. Process the mixture until it is very smooth.The frangipane can be used immediately or you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. If it becomes too firm in the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for a while to soften before using.
To finish the tart:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Spread the frangipane evenly into the cooled tart shell {It should be liquid enough to smooth out on its own so you don’t need to work to much on it}.
Take the poached pears out of their liquid and drain them on paper towels. You don’t want too much excess liquid or they will make the frangipane soggy. Cut each pear half crosswise into 3/8 in thick slices. Do not separate the pear half yet.
Slide a spatula or other flat utensil underneath the pear so you can transfer the entire half onto the tart. Press on the pear to fan the slices toward the top narrow end of the pear.
Slide the pear half onto the frangipane carefully – you can move the pear after you place it, but not much.
Repeat with the other pear halves until they are evenly spaced.
Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 45-50 minutes, until the frangipane is puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Cool the tart on a wire rack.

Before serving, you can brush the pears with some warmed apple jelly to glaze, or dust confectioner’s sugar over the tart. {As you can see, I didn’t have time to do that. I set the timer for the tart to bake, and rushed off on ‘driver’ duty!}

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