French Food Friday...Pear and Almond Frangipane Tart

photo and recipe from here

 

 

Bonjour mes belles,

 

This weeks recipe comes from my favourite food blog which just happens to be written by a fellow kiwi.

 

It is a little ironic as I had already found a French recipe in a cook book written by Sophie Dudemaine and then Sarah featured this recipe so it was fate.....that and the fact that French Boyfriend loves pears and loves it when he walks in the door and there I am with tablier on, cooking up a storm.

 

 

Pear and Almond Frangipane Tart

 

5 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scarped out with the tip of a knife
1/2 tsp almond essence
peel from 1 lemon
3 Berre Bosc or William pears

Put all ingredients (including vanilla bean seeds) except the pears in a big wide pot and bring to the boil stirring for a few minutes to dissolve sugar, then reduce to a simmer. In the meantime carefully peel your pears then put all together into the simmering liquid, if they are not fully covered add a little more water to cover them.

Leave to cook for about 10 minutes if you have already ripe pears, 20 minutes for almost ripe pears and 35 minutes for absolutely rock hard. Test for doneness by piercing one to ensure the it is just soft but not mushy. Once the pears are cooked, remove carefully with a slotted spoon and put in a container, standing upright, and pour poaching liquid around to cover. Once cool core and cut into eighths- you may not use every piece, but the left over slices are delicious!

Pastry:

1 cup plain flour

1/4 cup ground almonds

1/2 icing sugar

60g chilled butter, chopped

1 egg yolk (keep white)

1/2 tsp almond essence

1 tbsp ice water

Frangipane:

100g butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

1 1/3 cups ground almond

1 tbsp plain flour

1/2 tsp almond essence

1/4 cup icing sugar for dusting

250ml softly whipped cream 

1 tbsp Amaretto or similar liqueur

1 tbsp icing sugar 

(optional to serve)

 

For pastry whizz flour, almonds and icing sugar in a food processor to combine. Add butter and whizz to form breadcrumbs. Add egg and yolk, almond essence and water and pulse until pastry just comes together. Tip out onto a floured bench and form into a disc.

Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour.

Spray a 25cm removable base tart tin with cooking oil and roll pastry out with a rolling pin between two sheets of baking paper to about 1/2cm thickness.

Remove one sheet of baking paper and carefully roll over the rolling pin, then unroll pastry-side-down into the tart tin. Remove top sheet of baking paper and trim...this all sounds ridiculously easy, but it's not quite as simple as it sounds.

The good news is the pastry is quite easily squished and mended when it tears, so if necessary patch it back together! Prick the base with a fork and refrigerate tart base for at least half an hour before baking.

 

Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Whizz second lot of butter, caster sugar, eggs, almonds, flour and almond essence in a food processor.

 

Line the 25cm pastry shell with baking paper and fill with baking beans or weights. Bake for 12 mins then remove paper and beans and brush the base with a little of the separate egg white, lightly whisked.

Return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and spread frangipane evenly into base then arrange pears on top and bake for a further 20 minutes, until the frangipane is lightly golden.

 

Cool before removing from base, sprinkle with icing sugar if desired and serve with vanilla bean ice cream and/or softly whipped Amaretto cream. Serves 8-10

bon appetit à tous, Leeann