Poached Pear and Almond Tart
Bosc pears are poached in white wine and warm, autumn spices – clove, cinnamon, and vanilla – until transluscent, then nestled in a thick layer of frangipane (sweet almond custard) in this perfect-for-fall tart. I’d never made anything with frangipane before and now I want to make everything with it. Creamy, nutty, scrumptious.
I used a recipe from Cooks Illustrated. It’s easy to follow and their web site (not the app) includes useful illustrations on how to core and slice the pears to achieve the desired effect. They have a paywall, but they usually offer a free trial if you don’t subscribe.
Do you like a good cocktail? By the time the pears are done, you'll end up with what is basically a spiced pear simple syrup. I strained it and asked my husband to make “some sort of bourbon cocktail” with it. (I mean, waste not want not.) Scroll down for his recipe. It’s almost as amazing as this tart.
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Wouldn’t this be perfect on your Thanksgiving table? (Photo by Daniel Marks)
Poached Pear and Almond Tart Recipe:
Yield:
1, 11-inch tart
(My largest tart pan is 9-inches, so I used my leftover tart dough and frangipane for those mini almond tarts that you see in the picture.)
Difficulty:
Moderate
Cooks Illustrated Recipe: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/393-poached-pear-and-almond-tart
I picked this recipe partially because I loved the idea of poaching the pears in wine (those who know me are thinking "yes, of course she did”), but if you don’t want to use wine, Zoe Bakes has a similar recipe on her blog and the poaching liquid is made with water and black tea instead.
How I made it:
Assembled but not yet baked. In my 9-inch tart pan, I only needed 2 pears. I arranged the pears this way to make sure there would be pear in every bite.
For the wine in the poaching liquid, I wanted something that would compliment the pears’ flavor. Something with fruity or buttery notes, and not overly sweet since the poaching liquid already includes sugar. I chose the 2019 Roblar Estate Semillon (we’re members of this winery) since it was described as having “notes of pear”. Perfect! You can grab a bottle here: https://www.roblarwinery.com/product/Semillon-2019-Estate
Sometimes I improvise with recipes, I didn’t see much reason to with this one, but I did make a few substitutions for cost and convenience:
I used 4 ounces of almond flour rather than grinding almonds
I used ½ tsp vanilla bean paste in place of the whole vanilla bean (a cost-cutting measure)
I added ½ cup sliced almonds on top because I wanted some extra crunch. Plus, they look pretty, right?
And finally, I used orange marmalade to glaze the pears after baking rather than apple butter. I already had some and I’m not a fan of apple butter!
One minor tip. When blind baking the crust (pre-baking the it before you add filling), I’d suggest covering the outer edges in foil after about 10 minutes. As you can see, my crust got a little too dark during the final bake. Definitely cover the edges during the final bake. I didn’t think to do this until almost too late! The darkness didn’t affect the flavor, maybe just a little more toasty. But I wouldn’t want it much darker!
Photo by Daniel Marks
Poached Pear Bourbon Cocktail
Yield:
Makes one cocktail (so double it 😉 )
Ingredients:
1 extra large ice cube
1½ ounce Pendleton’s Canadian Whiskey
1 ½ ounce poaching liquid, strained and chilled
1 dash aromatic bitters, (we used one from Australian Bitters Company)
1 small slice of poached pear (if you have any leftover)
Instructions:
Place large ice cube in an old fashioned glass. Combine whiskey, poaching liquid, and bitters in a large mixing glass. Stir together then pour over the ice into the glass. Add a slice of pear and enjoy!
