Pear Frangipane Tart (2024)

Pear Frangipane Tart has a buttery shortbread crust baked with almond frangipane filling and topped with sliced pears and almonds.

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Kick off pear season with this pear frangipane tart!

Several varieties of pears grow in the United States.

The end of summer marks the beginning of Bartlett pear season! Bartletts are my favorite for snacking and baking.

Pear Frangipane Tart

This frangipane tart is a combination of two previously shared recipes.

It uses the pâtesucrée crust from this almond pine nut tart paired with the homemade almond frangipane filling from this nectarine frangipane tart.

What is pâtesucrée?

Translated from French, pâte sucrée means “sugar dough.”

Easily mix this tart dough together like cookie dough.

Cream softened with sugar and eggs to create a crumbly dough that is very forgiving and easy to roll out.

No need to worry about rips or tears when lining the tart shell pan.

Withpâte sucrée, you patch holes by simply pressing additional dough into the tear.

However, with pâte sucrée the dough needs to be par-baked prior to adding filling.

What is blind baking or par-baking?

This refers to baking an unfilled pastry shell. It is also known as pre-baking.

This is done to prevent a soggy crust bottom once the filling is added.

Weights such as beans or ceramic beads lined the tart shell during baking to prevent bubbles from forming.

There are two types of blind baking: partial blind bake and full blind bake.

Baking 101

Blind Bake

Partial Blind Bake

As the name suggests, the dough is partially baked without filling, then fully baked once the filling has been added.

Full Blind Bake

Whereas, full blind bake means that crust is completely baked before any filling is added.

Full blind bake is common for pies and tarts filled with pastry cream or mousse.

Examples include: Blood Orange Earl Grey Tarts and Peanut Butter Mousse Tarts.

How to partially blind bake tart shell:

Use a fluted tart shell with a removable bottom. This recipes works best with a 9.5-inch or 10-inch tart shell.
Line tart shell with dough. Dock dough with fork to prevent bubbles from forming in the oven. (Usually the dough is also allowed to chill and rest in the fridge prior to baking.)
Line dough with parchment paper (or aluminum foil) and top with weights. Any oven safe weights will do: fancy ceramic pie weights, dried beans, or dried rice.
Partially bake tart shell. Remove parchment paper and weights. Let shell cool before adding filling.

Pour in the frangipane filling once the par-baked crust has cooled.

Arrange sliced pears atop filling. Top with sliced almonds and turbinado sugar for extra crunch.

Bartlett Pears

These pears come in two colors: greenish-yellow and red. They’re in season from late August through January.

Bartlett pears are probably the most popular or well known of the pear varieties because they’re so versatile.

Eat them raw as a snack, slice them into salads, serve them with a cheese board, or bake them into sweet treats. They’re also great for canning and poaching.

Interested in learning about other pears? I use Comice in this pear rice pudding and Starkrimson in this no bake pear cheesecake.

Almond Frangipane Filling:

Frangipane is a creamy custard filling traditionally made with almonds.

It is a combination of ground almonds mixed with butter, sugar, and eggs.

This frangipane filling is made with almond paste.

In a food processor, blend almond paste with sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, and a small amount of flour until smooth and creamy.

What is almond paste?

Almond paste is a thick, clay-like dough made from processing together almonds and sugar.

It is sold and packaged in tubes or cans.

Find it in the baking aisle of the grocery store alongside canned pie fillings and bags of nuts.

Is almond paste the same as marzipan?

NO! They are two different products.

Marzipan is almond candy with the texture of soft taffy.

It is much softer than almond paste and has a much higher concentration of sugar.

Do not use marzipan for this recipe.

During baking, the shortbread crust will cook up firm and crunchy.

The frangipane filling will caramelize into the deep golden brown photographed above.

The sliced pears will soften, making them creamy and sweet.

Sliced almonds and turbinado sugar add another textural variety.

Serving Suggestions

Cool tart for at least 20 minutes before slicing. The filling needs time to regain its structure.

Divide into 8 portions. Slice the tart in such a way to give each portion an equal amount of pear and frangipane filling.

As shown in the images below, one side of the slice shows the shingled pears while the other side shows the creamy frangipane.

How to store leftovers?

Pear Frangipane Tart can be left out at room temperature for up to a day.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Pear Frangipane Tart

5 from 2 votes

Pear Frangipane Tart has a buttery shortbread crust baked with almond frangipane filling and topped with sliced pears and almonds.

Yield: 9.5-inch tart

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Dough Rest: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 slices

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Ingredients

Tart Shell:

▢ 14 Tablespoon (198 g) unsalted butter, softened
▢ ½ cup (58 g ) powdered sugar
▢ 1 large egg
▢ 1 large egg yolk
▢ 3 cups (390 g) all-purpose flour
▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Frangipane Filling:

▢ ⅓ cup (3.5 oz/99 g) almond paste
▢ 3 Tablespoon ( 38 g) granulated sugar
▢ 6 Tablespoon (85 g) unsalted butter, softened
▢ 2 large eggs
▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ 2 Tablespoon (16 g ) all-purpose flour
▢ ¼ teaspoon baking powder
▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Topping:

▢ 3 ripe medium-sized Bartlett pears*
▢ sliced almonds, to top
▢ turbinado sugar, to top

Instructions

Tart Shell:

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing. Add egg and egg yolk. Mix until well incorporated.
Add flour and salt. Mix on low speed just until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour. Gently press dough together. Divide in two equal parts and pat into flat discs. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
When ready to roll out dough, place one disc on a lightly floured work surface (or between two sheets of wax paper). Roll into a circle about 11-inches in diameter.
Gently transfer dough to 9.5-inch or 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Use your fingers to press dough against the sides and bottom of pan. Trim the overhang dough along the edges. Dock the bottom of tart. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge while oven preheats.
Preheat oven to 375°25F.
Remove plastic wrap from tart. Line tart with parchment paper or aluminum foil and add pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights. Bake for another 6 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare filling.

Frangipane Filling:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a food processor fitted with blade attachment, combine almond paste, sugar, and butter. Pulse until well blended. Scrape down bowl as needed.
Add eggs one a time, pulsing until incorporated. Add vanilla, salt, baking powder, and flour. Process until mixture is smooth.

Assembly and Topping:

Pour filling into cooled tart shell.
Peel pears. Slice in half lengthwise and core. Slice pear halves crosswise into thin slices. Slightly fan pear slices apart. Use a mini offset spatula to carefully transfer fanned pears atop the filled tart shell. Repeat with remaining pear halves, spacing pears equally apart in tart shell.
Sprinkle sliced almonds and turbinado sugar, as desired. Bake for 38-40 minutes until the filling center no longer jiggles. Allow tart to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. If desired, dust tart with powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

Be sure to use ripe pears. Otherwise, the pears will lack flavor. If pears are extra juicy, place sliced pears on paper towel lined plate before transferring to filled tart shell.
Tart can be left at room temperature for up to one day. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

DOUGH recipe makes enough for TWO TARTS. Flatten second dough. Cover tightly in plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge for up to two days, or keep frozen for up to a month. Defrost overnight in the fridge when ready to use.

Nutrition

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

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