This is the tart to whip up when you want something that impresses without too much fuss. Easy, simple and yet incredibly flavourful.
Don’t you find most things French-themed incredibly romantic? I’m thinking French decor, kitchens, bedrooms, little French cafes with pretty crockery, French patisseries, beautiful and intricately decorated cakes.
My uncle lives in a little village outside Bordeaux and growing up we spent a few summers visiting him and his family. I loved how quaint it was, all the stone houses and the big fields bursting with enormous sunflowers at least as tall as me. And the food! My first experience of eating dinner in France left me in awe and a little stuffed. As each course came out of the kitchen, I thought: ‘these guys know how to EAT!’
I love how central food and drink is to the French culture and how gathering around the dining table is more than just a way of filling up. It’s conversation and tasting and laughing and enjoying. I don’t know how many times I finish my dinner without really thinking about what I’m putting into my mouth. I would love to see food as a way of connecting with people and trying new flavours and dishes. I suppose having a food blog means I do the experimenting, but there’s still something so precious about being around a dining table surrounded by friends and family.
Did you ever see the film Chocolat? Well, that would be my perfect little getaway. A small, close knit little village, a chocolate shop and..dare I say it, Johnny Depp?! Hey, you were thinking it too.
When I first saw the recipe for this pear and almond tart, it was more the chef’s name that caught my attention. Michel Roux Jr is a two-star Michelin chef at Le Gavroche, a (you guessed it) French restaurant in London. He’s written a fair few recipe books, including The French Kitchen, which this recipe is taken from. Having successfully avoided making too many tarts or pies for fear of pastry disasters, I figured it was about time to be bold and try something a little out of my comfort zone.
The recipe is really straightforward and you can’t go far wrong, even if like me the thought of working with pastry makes you squirm for fear of falling flat on your face. I affectionately call this FFOFFOYF syndrome. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say I really enjoyed baking this!
So let’s break it down. First, you start off by poaching your pears. I decided to do away with the vanilla and replaced it with half a teaspoon of almond extract. Then you just let the poaching do its thing while you get on with making the pastry for the tart.
The pastry is easy if you remember some golden rules:
The almond cream is something else. I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful!Just so delicious. It helps that it has rum in it, which isn’t overpowering but adds a really beautiful punch to it. And then you just throw it all together. In an organised, careful way of course.
I was so pleased with how this tart turned out that it’s strengthened my resolve to let my inner pie-lover out every once in a while to play around with pastry and enjoy the experience. Trust me, it really is fun.
The end result is so pretty and tastes so rich and nutty that you could almost believe you’re sitting in a small but perfectly formed French cafe sipping a cafe au lait with your slice of pear and almond tart. A bon!
Don’t you find most things French-themed incredibly romantic? I’m thinking French decor, kitchens, bedrooms, little French cafes with pretty crockery, French patisseries, beautiful and intricately decorated cakes.
My uncle lives in a little village outside Bordeaux and growing up we spent a few summers visiting him and his family. I loved how quaint it was, all the stone houses and the big fields bursting with enormous sunflowers at least as tall as me. And the food! My first experience of eating dinner in France left me in awe and a little stuffed. As each course came out of the kitchen, I thought: ‘these guys know how to EAT!’
I love how central food and drink is to the French culture and how gathering around the dining table is more than just a way of filling up. It’s conversation and tasting and laughing and enjoying. I don’t know how many times I finish my dinner without really thinking about what I’m putting into my mouth. I would love to see food as a way of connecting with people and trying new flavours and dishes. I suppose having a food blog means I do the experimenting, but there’s still something so precious about being around a dining table surrounded by friends and family.
Did you ever see the film Chocolat? Well, that would be my perfect little getaway. A small, close knit little village, a chocolate shop and..dare I say it, Johnny Depp?! Hey, you were thinking it too.
When I first saw the recipe for this pear and almond tart, it was more the chef’s name that caught my attention. Michel Roux Jr is a two-star Michelin chef at Le Gavroche, a (you guessed it) French restaurant in London. He’s written a fair few recipe books, including The French Kitchen, which this recipe is taken from. Having successfully avoided making too many tarts or pies for fear of pastry disasters, I figured it was about time to be bold and try something a little out of my comfort zone.
The recipe is really straightforward and you can’t go far wrong, even if like me the thought of working with pastry makes you squirm for fear of falling flat on your face. I affectionately call this FFOFFOYF syndrome. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say I really enjoyed baking this!
So let’s break it down. First, you start off by poaching your pears. I decided to do away with the vanilla and replaced it with half a teaspoon of almond extract. Then you just let the poaching do its thing while you get on with making the pastry for the tart.
The pastry is easy if you remember some golden rules:
- Make sure the butter is cold. About 5 minutes before using, cube and allow it to sit for 5 minutes so that it’s not rock hard.
- When rubbing the butter into the flour mixture, work quickly. The key to good, tender and crumbly pastry is to keep it chilled. If you overwork it, the heat from your hands will start to soften the butter which may result in tough, rubbery pastry. Work quickly and efficiently, rubbing until there are only a few pea-sized dots of butter left and the rest resembles crumbs. Stop rubbing it at this point! It’s not meant to look like fine flour. Overworking the dough at any stage will facilitate the development of glutens in the flour, which is great when you want bread, but it will give you awful pastry.
- Unlike most baking, use a fridge-cold egg to bring it all together! Again this just helps to keep the temperature low.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. No need to freeze, the fridge is fine.
- Once you’ve rolled the dough out, again being careful not to overwork, and pressed it into your tart tin, allow it to chill for a further 1-2 hours before baking.
- Always, always blind bake! Blind baking helps to prevent a soggy bottom once you pour the almond cream onto the pastry.
The almond cream is something else. I had to stop myself from eating it by the spoonful!Just so delicious. It helps that it has rum in it, which isn’t overpowering but adds a really beautiful punch to it. And then you just throw it all together. In an organised, careful way of course.
I was so pleased with how this tart turned out that it’s strengthened my resolve to let my inner pie-lover out every once in a while to play around with pastry and enjoy the experience. Trust me, it really is fun.
The end result is so pretty and tastes so rich and nutty that you could almost believe you’re sitting in a small but perfectly formed French cafe sipping a cafe au lait with your slice of pear and almond tart. A bon!
Pear and almond tart
2015-09-29 14:04:49
This is the tart to whip up when you want something that impresses without too much fuss. Easy, simple and yet incredibly flavourful.
For the poached pears
- 4 large ripe pears
- 300ml water
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 250g caster sugar
For the sweet pastry
- 120g unsalted butter, cold
- 195g plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 45g sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, chilled
- 1 tbsp water, cold
- For the almond cream
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 125g caster sugar
- 125g ground almonds
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tbsp white rum
To decorate
- Apricot jam
- 2 tbsp flaked almonds
- 23cm tart or pie tin.
Instructions
- Start by poaching the pears. Peel them, keeping the stems on, and cut them in half. Use a teaspoon to remove the cores. In a large saucepan, add the water, almond extract, cinnamon stick and sugar and bring to the boil. Add the pears and simmer on a gentle heat for 12-15 minutes. The pears need to be tender but not too soft. Take the pan off the heat and allow the pears to cool in the water.
- To make the pastry, cut the butter into 2cm cubes and allow to sit for 5 minutes to soften just a little. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and rub into the flour using your fingertips. It's easiest if you rub between your fingers and thumb with your palms facing upwards. Work quickly to avoid the butter warming too much and to prevent glutens forming in the pastry. You can stop as soon as there are only a few larger lumps of butter and the rest resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the egg yolk. Use your fingers to mix the eggs into the flour in a circular motion around the bowl, gathering flour as you go to form a dough. Once all the egg has been incorporated, add a little cold water at a time until there are only a few dry bits of dough that haven't yet stuck. The dough shouldn't be wet or sticky. Gently form the dough into a ball, being careful not to overwork it again and wrap in cling film. Rest it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- To make the almond cream, in a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes, then add in the ground almonds and beat until incorporated. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the rum and beat until mixed in.
- Once your pastry has chilled, on a floured surface, roll out the pastry so that it's 2-3 inches wider than the diameter of your tart tin. Carefully transfer the pastry into the tin and use your fingers to gently press it into the edges and sides of the tin. Use kitchen scissors to carefully trim excess pastry around the edge, leaving 2cm still remaining over the rim of the pie tin. This helps the tart to keep its shape even if the pastry shrinks a little whilst baking, which is normal. You can trim any excess once it's baked.
- Place the tin in the fridge to chill the pastry for a second time, for 1-2 hours.
- Once the pastry has chilled again, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4.
- To blind bake the pastry, prick the base with a fork, line it with baking paper and fill with baking beans or dried pulses or beans. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are very lightly golden. Remove the baking paper and beans and bake the pastry again for another 5 minutes, until the base is dry and very lightly coloured.
- Drain the poached pears and slice them thinly lengthways, removing the stems as you go.
- Pour the almond cream onto the pastry base, smoothing the top. Arrange the sliced, drained pears on top, with the pointed ends facing the centre.
- Bake the tart for 40 minutes, until the filling is just set and golden brown. Remove from the oven and, using a pastry brush, glaze the top of the tart with apricot jam mixed with a little warm water. Immediately sprinkle with flaked almonds.
- The tart is best served warm but just as tasty once cooled.
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