Pear Frangipane Tart
This tart looks straight out of a French bakery window, yet it’s built from three simple parts: crisp sweet pastry, almond frangipane and pears. In the oven the frangipane rises around the fruit, turning golden on top and staying moist within. We like it best the next day, once the pear and almond have had time to settle in together.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 1 h 5 min
- Rest
- 2 h 20 min
- Total
- 4 h 10 min
- Servings
- 10
- Level
- Challenging
- Per serving
- 425 kcal
Ingredients
For the sweet pastry
For the frangipane
To finish
Makes: one 24 cm tart, 10 slices
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
180 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 160 °C
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Step 1: Make the pastry
Mix the flour, icing sugar and salt, add the cold butter and rub in with your fingertips to fine crumbs. Add the egg and quickly bring together into a ball without kneading. Shape into a disc, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
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Step 2: Line the tin
Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper to 3–4 mm and ease it into a 24 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it into the sides. Trim the excess, prick the base with a fork and freeze for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
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Step 3: Blind bake
Line with baking paper, fill with baking beads or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for another 5 minutes, until pale golden. Lower the oven to 175 °C (345 °F).
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Step 4: Make the frangipane
With a mixer, beat the soft butter and sugar for 2–3 minutes until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each, then fold in the ground almonds, flour and vanilla to a smooth cream.
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Step 5: Prepare the pears
Peel the pears, halve them and scoop out the core with a teaspoon, including the tough fibres up to the stem. Lay each half cut side down and slice crosswise into 3 mm slices, keeping the shape intact.
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Step 6: Assemble
Spread the frangipane evenly over the baked case. Lift each pear half on a knife, press gently to fan the slices and arrange in a circle, narrow ends pointing to the centre like wheel spokes. Scatter the flaked almonds between the pears.
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Step 7: Bake
Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the frangipane has puffed up around the pears, turned golden and a skewer pushed into the cream comes out dry.
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Step 8: Glaze
Warm the jam until runny and sieve it if lumpy. Brush it over the pears while the tart is still warm. Cool for at least an hour before removing from the tin.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Choose ripe but firm pears. Soft, juicy ones release a lot of liquid and leave the frangipane underneath soggy.
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Tip
The frangipane should fill no more than two-thirds of the pastry case: it rises in the oven and can spill over the edge.
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Variation
Swap the pears for halved plums, apricots or a handful of pitted cherries. A tablespoon of rum in the frangipane is lovely.
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Storage
Keep covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 4. We find it even more fragrant served cool.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 10 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 425 kcal | 4,250 kcal |
| Protein | 7 g | 70 g |
| Fat | 25 g | 250 g |
| Carbohydrates | 43 g | 430 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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