Pear Tart

I love pears. Always have, always will. I also love shortbread and almonds and custard, so coming up with this recipe was a labor of love. I made it for my Puttin' Up Preserves party and I've gotten a few requests for the recipe. Here it is!

Pear Tart

a bricolage of many different recipes, including family recipes, Joy of Cooking, latartinegourmande.com, smittenkitchen.com, and bon appetit.

Poach the pears:

Combine and bring to a boil in a large pot:

1 ½ cups sugar

4 star anises

zest of two lemons

4 cups water

Meanwhile, select:

8-10 pears (You will only need 8, but poach an extra one or two just in case something goes awry. Select 4 pretty, small ones to decorate top of tart.)

Peel the pears. Using a corer or a sharp knife, make a hole in the bottom. Remove the inside seeds and harder parts of the pears. Leave the stems on. As you work, squeeze some lemon juice on it so that it does not darken. Some of the small pears for decorating the top may be too small to core. Leave them whole; that's fine.

Place the pears in the hot syrup and cook for about 20 minutes, until tender but not longer (you want to keep the pears firm).  When done, remove from the heat and allow them to cool in the syrup. Reserve the syrup for the coulis.

Make the frangipane:

Beat on high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes:

1/3 c. sugar

2 T. flour

2 T. cornstarch

4 large egg yolks

Meanwhile, combine in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer:

1 1/3 cups milk

(1 vanilla bean, split)

Remove the vanilla bean if you used it, and discard. Gradually pour about 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Scrape the egg mixture back into the pan and cook over low to medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan to prevent scorching, until the custard is thickened and beginning to bubble. Then continue to cook, whisking, for 45 to 60 seconds. Using a clean spatula, scrape the custard into a clean bowl. If you did not use the vanilla bean, stir in:

(¾ tsp. vanilla)

Fold in:

1/3 cup ground blanched almonds or almond meal

1/8 to ¼ tsp. almond extract (add more to taste; I used closer to ½ tsp.)

Cover the surface of the custard with a piece of wax or parchment paper and allow to cool. This keeps, refrigerated, for up to 2 days.

Prepare and bake the crust: 

Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x11 pan. Gently combine crust ingredients and pat into the pan:

2 1/2 c. flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 c. melted salted butter (2 sticks)
2 Tbsp. white vinegar

Prick all over with fork. Bake 10 min. Allow to cool.

Assemble and bake:

Set aside 4 of the prettiest small pears for decorating the tart. Spread almond filling evenly in baked tart crust. Place the 4 whole pears in a line down the center of the tart, spacing evenly. Stem remaining 4 pears and cut each in half lengthwise; scoop out cores if you haven't already. Cut each half crosswise into thin slices. Then gently press each pear half to fan slices but keep slices tightly overlapped. Slide spatula under pears and arrange atop filling like spokes of wheel with narrow ends in center.

Bake tart until golden and tester inserted into center of filling comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes. Meanwhile, make coulis:

4 tbsp marmalade

4 tbsp syrup from pears (or more depending on how you prefer the consistency)

Cool tart in pan on rack. While still slightly warm, brush with coulis. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Cut tart into 12 large squares using a large, sharp knife and/or bench cutter. Carefully remove each square and reassemble like a jigsaw puzzle on a large wooden board or platter. You can now cut smaller squares if desired, keeping the tart intact for presentation.

Note: I think this would also be beautiful in 2 rectangular tart pans rather than the 9x11 (and much easier to get out of the pan)!

Enjoy!