Description
This Almond Pear Tart features a buttery, flaky crust filled with a luscious almond cream and topped with thinly sliced pears. Perfectly baked to a golden brown, it's an elegant dessert that highlights the harmonious blend of nutty almond and sweet, tender pears.
Ingredients
Scale
Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup ice water
Filling
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
Topping
- 2 medium pears, sliced thinly
- 2 Tbsp powdered sugar for dusting on top of the finished tart, optional
Instructions
- Make the pie crust: Add the flour, cold butter, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until there are no large chunks of butter, with small pieces still visible. Slowly add ice water while pulsing until the dough forms a single clump. Remove, divide in half, and refrigerate. Use half for the tart and freeze the other half for later.
- Preheat oven and prepare crust: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll out the chilled tart dough to about 1/4 inch thick and fit it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Place the crust back in the refrigerator while preparing the filling to keep it firm.
- Prepare almond filling: In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or using electric beaters, cream the room temperature butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy. Add salt, egg, and almond extract and mix to combine well.
- Add dry ingredients to filling: Gradually add almond flour and all purpose flour to the creamed mixture. Mix until combined and smooth.
- Fill the crust: Dollop the almond mixture evenly over the chilled crust, then spread it uniformly to cover the bottom of the tart shell.
- Arrange pears: Lay thinly sliced pear pieces on top of the almond filling. Arrange slices in groups of 6-9, fanning them out slightly, and gently press them into the filling for a beautiful presentation.
- Bake the tart: Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes until the filling is puffed and golden brown. To prevent over-browning, tent the tart loosely with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Cool and serve: Remove the tart from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Before serving, dust the top with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
- This tart pairs wonderfully with ripe Bosc pears for the best flavor and texture.
- If you prefer, substitute almond flour with finely ground almonds, but almond flour yields a smoother filling.
- The pie crust dough can be frozen for up to 1 month, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for convenient future use.
- To make slicing pears easier, chill them briefly before cutting.
- You can use light brown sugar instead of granulated sugar in the filling for a subtle caramel note.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 441 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 330 mg
- Fat: 31 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 81 mg
