Pear Almond Tart

Інгредієнти

Tart Crust

2 1/3 cups (300g) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons (200g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon lemon or orange zest

1 yolk

2 tablespoons water (more if it isn’t coming together)

Filling

4 Poached Bosc or Bartlett Pears

1 cup almond cream (frangipane)

1 cup toasted almonds, crushed

1 tablespoon sugar for dusting over the top

Poached Pears

4 cups water

2 tb black tea

1 cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

2 cardamom pods, lightly cracked 1/2-inch fresh ginger, sliced into 1/8-inch coins

2/3 cups sugar

4 small, firm pears

Frangipane (almond cream)

84g unsalted butter

84g icing sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

84g ground almonds

20g all-purpose flour

Напрямки

To make tart crust:

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 powdery. 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 at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

To make poached pears:

In a large pot, combine the water, tea, and spices, bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. Cover the pot, turn off the heat and let the chai steep for at least 30 minutes, or you can leave it overnight. The longer you leave the tea to steep, the stronger the flavor will be. Strain the liquid and discard the tea and spices. Add the sugar and bring to a simmer.

Peel and core the pears. Add them to the poaching liquid and bring to a gentle simmer. Slowly poach the pears, turning them on occasion to make sure all sides are equally cooked. This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how low the heat and how firm your pears. To check for doneness, stick a skewer in the bottom of the pear, through the thickest part of the fruit. It should go into the flesh easily. If the pears are not the same size, you may need to take the smaller ones out before the larger ones. Set them to drain and cool on a piece of parchment or wax paper. If you are not serving right away, cover the poached pears with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

To make frangipane (almond cream):

In a stand mixer or food processor, cream together the butter and sugar, until is light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add the eggs one at a time, scraping down after each. (The batter may appear curdled until you add the dry ingredients.) Add the extract. Add the ground almonds and flour, mix until well combined.

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.