I'm taking it back to my Pastry School days with one of the items I made for my final project - my Pear Tart with Hazelnut Frangipane! To this day, still one of my favorite tarts to make at home. I hope you enjoy it!
Key Ingredients
Bosc Pears
I highly recommend them using Bosc pears for this recipe! Bosc pears are known for retaining their flavor after being cooked/baked which is essential for our tart. The color prior to baking is absolutely gorgeous and only continues to deepen and darken during the baking process. They are juicy but also quite crunchy - this allows us to ensure that we don't end up with a soggy tart at the end of our creation!
Demerara Sugar
Demerara Sugar is a type of cane sugar with a fairly large grain and a pale amber color. It is known to be a fantastic finishing sugar for a number of different pastries and baked goods. It has a pleasant toffee flavor and can be used in place of brown sugar. The added crunch and caramelized flavor helps to bring this tart up a notch!
Frangipane
What is frangipane you ask? HAPPY to tell you! Frangipane is a velvety almond cream, enhanced with just a hint of vanilla, that gives any dessert delicious added richness and texture. Within the pastry world, this cream tends to be used in a variety of different ways, including a filling for tarts, cakes, and pastries!
Traditionally, it's made from ground almonds, butter, eggs, sugar, and a small amount of unbleached all-purpose flour. In this case, I'll be using hazelnut flour instead of almond flour. This is accomplished by toasting your hazelnuts and grinding them in a food processor until you've reached a fine powder. Make sure not to grind for too long as your hazelnut flour could become nut butter instead!
Tart Dough
Buttery, sweet, and incredibly tender, this simple recipe for a sweet-tart shell will complement the filling of your choice. It's a classic recipe that I always use as the perfect base when dreaming up another sweet creation!
Mixing Sweet Tart Dough
To make your tart shell, you'll start by mixing sugar, butter, vanilla paste, salt, almond, and all-purpose flour until combined. Take a moment to scrape the mixing bowl.
Add room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing between additions, then add bread flour, making sure to not overmix.
Wrap the mixed dough tightly in plastic wrap. Then, place in the fridge to chill before using for at least one hour.
I tend to make my tart dough ahead of time so I throw it in the fridge until the next day. If using this method, remove your dough from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to roll it out - you’ll find that it will be MUCH easier to work with!
Baking
Depending on your fillings recipe, you may need to fully bake your tart shell before adding the filling. Or, depending on the recipe, you may be baking the tart shell and the filling together at the same time.
Follow your recipe in regards to bake time. Just know that this sweet-tart shell tends to take 25-30 minutes to fully bake.
Blind Baking
Blind baking refers to baking your tart dough before you add any additional fillings. This is a preventative measure to make sure that the base of your tart is not soggy.
Tart dough has a tendency to puff up during baking. To combat this I make sure to poke the base of my tart dough with a fork and utilize what's known as pie weights (detailed below). You know that your tart crust is finished blind baking when the crust is barely browned and set.
Garnishing
After baking, add some additional chopped hazelnuts around the edges as garnish! Additionally, you can add a sprinkling of powdered sugar as well for some added contrasting colors.
Storing
Once you've formed your tart shells, you can go ahead and stop at that point and wrap them tightly with plastic wrap. Then, throw them in the freezer! They will last up to two months in the freezer, allowing you to pull one out and bake at your leisure.
Make sure to fill and bake this tart at a maximum of one day in advance and store it in the fridge.
Pear Tart with Hazelnut Frangipane
Equipment
- Hand or Stand Mixer
- Plastic Wrap
- Rolling Pin
- Tart Pan
- Pie Weights/Baking Rice or Beans
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Tart Dough
- ¾ Cup + 2 Tbsp (200 g) Unsalted Butter , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (1 ) Vanilla Paste, or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ¼ Cups (150 g) Powdered Sugar
- ½ Cup (56 g) Almond flour
- ¾ Cup (100 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 2 Eggs, large, room temperature
- 2 ¼ Cups (280 g) Bread Flour
Frangipane
- ½ Cup (115 g) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- ½ Cup & 1 Tbsp (115 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 Cup (112 g) Ground Hazelnuts
- 3 Eggs, large, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
To Finish
- 4 Bosc Pears , sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoon Demerara Sugar
- Powdered Sugar and Chopped Hazelnuts for Garnish
Instructions
Frangipane
- Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream for 3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
- Add the hazelnut or almond flour in three parts while mixing, alternating with each egg until the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
- Add the flour and vanilla extract - mixing to combine. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Tart Dough
- In a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, start by mixing sugar, butter, vanilla paste, salt, almond and all purpose flour, mixing until combined. Take a moment to scrape the mixing bowl
- Add room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing between additions
- Add bread flour, making sure to not overmix
- Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap – then place in the fridge to chill before using for at least one hour.
- I tend to make my tart dough ahead of time so I throw it in the fridge until the next day. If using this method, remove your dough from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to roll it out – you’ll find that it will be MUCH easier to work with!
- Once your dough is rolled to the desired thickness, press gently into the bottom of your buttered tart pan, poking the bottom of the tart LIBERALLY with a fork, and place in the freezer to chill for 20-30 minutes. This is essential – your tart shells are less likely to shrink while baking if you take the time to freeze your shells.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Line the shell with aluminum foil and baking rice/beans/pie weights to further prevent the dough from puffing up. Bake for about 15 minutes until light golden brown before pulling from the oven. After cooling for 5-10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights.
- Fill tart shell to the ½ way point with your frangipane and arrange pear slices on top. Sprinkle demerara sugar on top before placing back into the preheated oven for another 30-40 minutes. You’re looking for the frangipane to be completely set before removing from the oven and letting cool. If your edges of the tart is browning too quickly, you can lightly cover them with a ring of foil.
- Transfer the tart to a rack to cool until lukewarm or room temperature before removing the sides of the tart pan. To serve, I like sprinkling powdered sugar over the top! If the edges of the tart is gaining color too quickly, you can lightly cover them with a ring of foil - be sure to cook the filling through completely. Transfer the tart to a rack to cool until lukewarm or room temperature before removing the sides of the tart pan.
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