Pear Frangipane Tart

Prepare to be blown away by this delectable pear frangipane tart! A layer of almond cream cushions slices of pears in a sweet shortcrust pastry. The different components can be made in advance, so if you have them ready, the tart is out of the oven in 30 minutes! And you can use a round, square, or rectangular pie pan as I did.

From what I hear fall is a very popular season. The weather, the clothes, the colors, and the crisp air all contribute to a good mood. If you add a pear frangipane tart to that list, it grows exponentially.

Pears are one of the star fruits of the season and showcasing them in a simple tart with almonds is a great idea, let me tell you.

The weather is magical for making this fabulous French concoction. It's similar to the Apricot Raspberry Tart, but different fruits make a huge difference. How sweet or acid they are, if they are berries, if they can be used with the skin or have to be peeled. Details that change the final result.

So let's go over each component of this recipe.

The pears

By now we all know there are a fair amount of pear varieties that are good for baking, especially this time of year. But they are not available everywhere.

So don't worry because this pear tart is amazing with our wonderful everyday Bartlett or Williams pears (image below).

I think they are the most common ones. And they are delicious and juicy and perfect when in season. But use whatever type you like the most for baking. Make sure they are only just ripe. Or even firm. So they can still hold well after baking them.

I leave the skin on and cut them in thin slices. That way I can use them raw and the skin turns golden and adds another texture to the tart. But that is optional. Peel them if that's your preference.

Many times the pears are cooked beforehand when making this recipe. I don't see the point of that extra step if the fruit is ripe, not mushy, and is cut into thin slices.

If you're interested in more info about pear varieties here's a good link.

Frangipane, a.k.a. almond cream

There is a whole post devoted to frangipane on this blog because it deserves it. It is an almond cream that comes together in 15 minutes and can be frozen.

For me, it is a basic recipe, one that is very versatile and can be used as part of fruit tarts and also pastries, such as the Strawberry Danish Braid. All of them delicious of course.

A layer of frangipane is spread on the pre-baked sweet crust. It will puff in the oven and add a wonderful, buttery almond flavor to this tart.

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The pears are then arranged over the almond cream. Though we might agree that in this case the word arranged might be pushing it, lol. I never had the patience for making a pattern or coming up with a clever pear drawing.

So they go in, in whatever way they can.

The result is golden and amazing (image below) and the pears taste amazing anyway, no matter the pattern. What we want is to have enough fruit so that the rest of the components don't overpower it.

The sweet shortcrust pastry (or sweet pie crust).

Sweet shortcrust pastry is basically a French sweet pie crust. Or tart crust. You know they are more prone to thinner pies than the American ones.

This sweet crust is different but easy to make. It can be frozen and works very well with fruit tarts such as this one. This is considered a basic recipe for us, and have a whole post devoted to making sweet shortcrust pastry.

There are a few things to take into consideration.

Blind baking the crust:

This is a way of pre-baking the crust so that it doesn't become soggy afterward.

Most fillings have liquid in them and if you put it directly on a raw crust, it will seep into it before it starts to bake and will never quite crisp.

There is a very detailed explanation, together with step-by-step photos, in the post about sweet shortcrust pastry.

It's almost a last-minute stunning dessert if you have the tart dough and almond cream made ahead of time.

My expert tips

• Pears: this recipe works great with Bartlett pears or any other variety you like. You can use canned ones; take into account that they will be much softer after baking. I leave the skin on and love how it colors during baking (image above). You can also cut the pears in thicker wedges. They will be crunchier because they will not bake as much when the tart is done.
• Crust: I am a big fan of this Sweet Shortcrust Pastry, but most sweet pie crusts will work as long as they're on the sweet side. Make sure the crust is blind baked first.
• Frangipane: use a nice layer, but don't overdo it. The ratio of almond cream and pears is important.
• Variation: Apples work great here too, as do plums. If you're feeling festive, use some pistachios instead of almonds in the cream, that would be just amazing, and you can invite me for a cup of coffee and a slice of tart.
• Keeping: it can be kept at room t°, wrapped in plastic, for a few days or in the fridge for several days, but the pears will lose their shine and dry out a bit. I don't suggest freezing it after baking.
• Freezing: what can be frozen is the frangipane and the sweet crust (already in the pan before pre-baking it).
• Serving: this tart is amazing served warm with ice cream on top. A dusting of powdered sugar is pretty when you serve it right after it's made.

Other recipes you might like:
Chocolate Raspberry Tart
Pear Pecan Upside-down Cake
Lattice Fig Jam Tart

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it. Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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