French Pear Almond Frangipane Tart
This French pear tart is made with an almond and vanilla shortbread crust, filled with frangipane cream and topped with sliced fresh pears.
Belula
November 04, 2015
October 13, 2020
One of the first things I learned how to make at Ecole Lenotre when I came first to France was a version of this French pear tart. Do not be discouraged by all the components; you can make one element by day and assemble the tart by day three, if going at it in one go is proves to be overwhelming to you! It is worth the effort 😊. Hope you love it.
Ingredient and utensils notes
- 1 round tart tin 24 cm in diameter (you can make a rectangular version too)
- 1 Shortbread crust. You can either make it your self or use a store-bought crust if that is your preference. If you go with homemade you can find a step by step explanation and recipe on how to make sable dough here Shortbread Crust
- Frangipane cream
- Fresh pears and lemon juice
How to make this recipe
To make this French pear tart you need to assemble 3 main components:
- Shortbread crust
- Frangipane cream
- Thinly sliced pears
Step-by-step instructions: frangipane cream
To make this frangipane recipe you must first prepare its 2 components separately ahead of time.
- Make the almond cream: mix the softened butter, the powdered sugar, and the almond flour until smooth and the mixture has gained in volume. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated. Finally mix in the rum.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Then make the pastry cream and refrigerate. If you want a step-by-step explanation of how to make pastry cream, you can check it out here Gateau Basque Cake.
- Finally, when both the almond cream and the pastry cream are cold and it’s time to assemble the pear tart you can put together the frangipane super-fast.
- Simply smooth out the almond cream using a whisk and then add the pastry cream and mix to combine. Make sure there are no lumps in the cream.
Step-by-step instructions: tart assembly
- First, roll out the dough to 5 mm and line the tart tin. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before garnishing.
- Secondly, while the dough is chilling prepare the Frangipane my mixing the almond cream and the pastry cream until you obtain a smooth and shiny cream.
- Then, fill the base of the tart with the Frangipane.
- Thinly slice the pears and place them on top of the cream.
- Finally add some chopped almonds along the tart border.
- You are ready to bake the frangipane tart now.
Baking tips
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 C°/350 F. Rotate the tart in the oven halfway through the baking time. Bake until golden. About 45 minutes.
Recipe notes
- When making the almond cream, Rhum at the end is completely optional.
- You can either use a piping bag, the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to fill the base of the tart with the Frangipane. Make sure that it has been evenly spread.
- Use a few drops of lemon juice to coat the pears after you have peeled them to avoid oxidation!
Expert notes
- To make softened butter for the almond cream, either leave it at room temperature for a couple of hours before using it or use the microwave at 10 second intervals until you obtain the desired consistency (kind of like mayonnaise).
- Frangipane is a cream used to garnish tarts, cakes and Danish. It is not to be mistaken with almond cream. It is the mixture of almond cream (2/3) and pastry cream (1/3).
- When mixing the pastry cream with the almond cream, smooth out the pastry cream first, using a whisk, until there are no more visible lumps.
- Don't over garnish the tart with the almond frangipane cream because it will overflow, and you will be cleaning the oven for a while! 😉
- Remember baking times may differ depending on the oven you have. Always stay close if is the first time baking this dessert so you can time how long it will take in your oven!
Making ahead
You can make ahead all the components and then assembly the tart when you are ready to have it.
The shortbread crust can be made 2 days in advance and kept lined in the tart tin properly covered.
The pastry cream can be made ahead and kept for 3 days in the refrigerator.
Finally, the almond cream is best made on the same day you will be baking this tart.
Storing tips
This tart can be kept for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator.
Freezer instructions
Yes, you can freeze this tart. Let it cool down at room temperature, cover and freeze for up to 1 month.
To defrost: let it sit on your counter overnight.
The ingredients used in all recipes on this site are measured using the metric system. I use a
scale to be precise with my measurements and ensure good results. If you would also like to use a scale, here are some:
USA,
Canada,
UK,
Australia,
France.
Subscribe to the newsletter
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Nutrition: 332 cal
Cuisine: French
Dough
Almond Cream
-
Almond Flour
60 g
-
Unsalted Butter
60 g
-
Powdered Sugar
80 g
-
Eggs
(small)
1
-
Rum
(optional)
2 drop
Pastry Cream
-
Sugar
20 g
-
Egg Yolks
1
-
Cornstarch
10 g
-
Milk
75 g
-
Vanialla Beans
0.5
Frangipane
-
Almond Cream
250 g
-
Pastry Cream
100 g
Syrup
Assembly
-
Lemon
1
-
Pears
3
-
Chopped Almonds
50 g
Almond Cream
- 1. In the bowl of your stand mixer using the paddle attachment, bring the butter to a consistency of mayonnaise or softened butter.
- 2. Add the powdered sugar and the almond flour and mix until the mixture has gained volume and changed colour slightly.
- 3. Add the egg and continue to mix. If you are doing this process by hand you should be using a whisk.
- 4. Finally add the drops of rum, transfer onto a hermetic container and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Pastry Cream
- 1. In a small bowl mix the egg yolk and the sugar. Add the corn-starch and mix to combine. Set aside.
- 2. Bring the milk and the scrapped vanilla bean to a boil.
- 3. Pour half the milk over the sugar/egg yolk mixture and whisk until combined. Pour the mixture back in the pan with the rest of the milk.
- 4. Bring to a boil whisking constantly. Once it has cook for 2 minutes whisking vigorously.
- 5. Transfer to a clean container, cover and refrigerate.
Frangipane
- 1. Whisk the almond cream to smooth it out and add the cold pastry cream. Mix to combine. It should be shiny and smooth.
Syrup
- 1. Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Set aside.
Assembly
- 1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 C°. Butter a round tart tin 24 cm in diameter.
- 2. Roll out the dough to 5 mm thick. Tip: Using your rolling pin tap down the dough to make it thinner and easier to manipulate, and then proceed to roll it out. Line the tart tin with the shortbread crust.
- 3. Garnish the base of the tart with the almond frangipane.
- 4. Peel and cut the pears in half. Sprinkle with some drops of lemon juice to prevent the oxidation of the pears. Slice as thinly as possible keeping the pear shape. Top the tart with 5 half sliced pears.
- 5. Sprinkle with chopped almonds around the border of the tart.
- 6. Bake until golden brown. About 45 minutes.
- 7. Brush with the light syrup to make the tart shine.
If you made this recipe I would really appreciate it if you leave a rating or comment below! Also, if you share on social media please use #cookwithbelula, I would love to see what you create!
I love baking and this is just beautiful. Compliments!
Hello Nicoletta, Baking is just very therapeutic,, isn't it! I love it too! Thanks :)