Pear Tart with almond Cream
Ingredients for 8 servings:
Sweet shortcrust pastry:
- 250 g flour,
- 5 g salt,
- 25 g caster sugar,
- 125 g extra-fine butter,
- 1 egg yolk,
- 0,05 l water,
- 40 g flour (for rolling out),
- 10 g butter (for the tart ring).
Egg wash:
- 1 whole egg.
Syrup:
- 0,8 l water,
- 500 g caster sugar,
- orange or lemon zest,
- 1/2 vanilla pod.
Filling:
- 4 good quality pears (William, Doyenné du Comice, louise-bonne, Conférence) - 0,7 kg,
- half a lemon.
Almond cream:
- 100 g butter,
- 100 g caster sugar,
- 100 g ground almonds,
- 2 whole eggs,
- 10 ml vanilla (liquid extract),
- 40 ml amber rum or old rum.
Finishing:
- 40 g flaked almonds (optional),
- 100 g clear apricot glaze.
- Get the work area ready – 5 min
- Ingredients, equipment for preparation, cooking and serving.
- Make the sweet shortcrust pastry – 15 min
- Wrap it and set aside in refrigerated storage.
- Make the almond cream – 10 min
- Cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the whole eggs one by one and wisk together.
- Add the ground almonds and wisk until smooth.
- Flavour it with liquid vanilla and amber rum.
- Scrape out the bowl thoroughly, cover with cling film and set aside.
- Poach the pear in syrup – 10 min (if using fresh pears)
- Wash, peel and rub the pears in lemon juice.
- Cut them in two and remove any woody parts along with the seeds and pericard using a potato baller.
- Submerge them in the boiling syrup flavoured with orange and lemon zest and half a vanilla pod.
- Cover with a sheet of baking paper and cook the pear slowly for approximatly twenty minutes.
- Check if they are cooked.
- Stop cooking and let the pears cool in the syrup.
- Line the tart – 10 min
- Prick the bottom.
- Mark and crimp the edges.
- Fill the tart – 5 min
- Spread a thick, even layer of almond cream on the base.
- Drain the eight pear halves.
- Hold them carefully in place and cut them diagonally into even slices.
- Place them on top of the cream with the base of the pear (the largest part) pointing outwards.
- Bake the tart – 5min
- Bake it in the oven at 200/210 °c for approximatly forty minutes.
- Remove it from the ring ten minutes before the end of the baking.
- Brush the pastry with egg wash and finish baking, making sure the bottom is fully baked.
- Finish the tart – 5 min
- Ensure it is fully baked and transfer it to a wire rack.
- Coat it evenly with the apricot glaze sauce.
- Place the tart on a round platter lined with a lace paper doily.