It’s been some weeks of exhaustion and procrastination. The weeks in India finally caught up with me. Its been a lonesome uninspired time thus. I have so many recipes I want to make and yet not one that I actually wanted to put to execution.
It is how I feel when I go into a department store. My reaction every single time is of running out screaming in panic! I just don’t do well with mass anything. I get overwhelmed and then end up getting paralyzed.
I love going to my local grocery store. So, that’s where I thought I’d start. The choice was pretty obvious. All around me were so many different varieties of pears. I’m not much of a pear eater, and certainly have never eaten it in a tart. Again, therefore an obvious choice.
So, here it is. A Pear Frangipane Tart with a dash of Amaretto liqueur.
adapted from Delicious Magazine UK
- For the Crust
- 225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 110g butter
- 110g powdered sugar
- 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- For the Frangipane
- 125g butter, softened
- 125g powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 125g almond meal
- 1 tbsp plain flour
- ¼ cup amaretto liqueur
- For the Poached Pears
- 5-6 tbsps sugar
- 2 pears, halved and cored
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 inch ginger cut roughly into 2-3 pieces
- ½ lemon
- To start, make the pastry. Put the flour into a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and throw on top of the flour. Sprinkle with the powdered sugar. Using your fingertips, rub the butter, flour and sugar together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and, using your fingers, gradually draw in the flour. Knead lightly, until it comes together in a smooth ball – you might need to add 1-2 teaspoons cold water if the dough is very crumbly. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Make the frangipane filling. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time, then fold in the ground almonds and flour. Mix well and set aside.
- Make the poached pears. Put the sugar in a saucepan, pour in enough water to cover your pears and place over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Peel the pears and add to the pan, along with the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan and add the squeezed lemon. Add some more water to just cover the pears. Let the pears stay submerged in the poaching liquor. Simmer for around 10 minutes, then remove the pears to a plate and discard the liquor and solids. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Don’t overcook the pears – a knife should just pierce them easily since they are going to cook in the oven too.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to the shape of your tart tin and large enough to line the tart tin. Don’t worry if it breaks up, as this is a short, crumbly pastry. You can just patch it together in the tin and mold it up the sides, just making sure it is even all over. Trim off any excess pastry and spread the frangipane evenly on top.
- Place the pears in a line if you are using a rectangular tin like mine or in a circle if you are using a round tin. Bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is set. At this point lower the temperature to 150°C/300°F, sprinkle the pears with some sugar and bake in the oven for a further 10 minutes to finish off the browning. Cool in the tin slightly, then remove and transfer to a wire rack. Drizzle with honey and serve either warm or at room temperature with some good quality vanilla ice cream.
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Reblogged this on Recipe Reblog.
this looks amazing. I too am not a big pear eater [doubt I ever ate one in my life!] but this tart could sway me…
Try it hungrymum, you will not be sorry!
The tart looks stunning! I have a bag of hazelnuts, so might try a hazelnut and pear version….. Thanks for the recipe!
Hazelnuts sounds fantastic! Let me know how it turns out…
As soon as the weather gets cooler this will be on my to make list. It looks soooo good. Beautiful photos too.
Thank you Chez! You’ll be surprised how simple this tart is and how flavorful it is. 🙂
Mmhmm.. This tart looks so perfect – awesome photos! And I love how you’ve “lined up” the pears so beautifully :-). Too many recipes to try is a permanent food blogger/foodie problem I think and your description of being paralyzed matches the feeling of being overwhelmed so adequately! But hah, we’re beating that mood – e.g. like you’ve written: lokal inspiration! Great post – thanks for sharing!
Hi Sabrina, I am frequently paralyzed! All I need is some quiet in my head to remove all the noise and I can get free of my paralysis pretty soon… Thank you so much for your lovely compliments and for dropping by! I visited your blog. You have some very gorgeous recipes and pictures yourself. You have been bookmarked!!!