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Hi Bold Bakers!
I love a beautiful recipe that builds on recipes I already know and love! My homemade pear-frangipane tart is perfect around the holidays. It looks absolutely incredible, tastes phenomenal, and pears just happen to be in season, so you know you’ll get the best of the best!
This is a simple tart, but very special. I start with my own buttery pie crust, which is still my favorite pie crust after all these years of working as a pastry chef. I use my homemade frangipane, which is very easy to make and adds a wonderful almondy richness to this dessert. I also use my simple poached pear recipe, which is elegant on its own! I also love to top it with an apricot jam to give it a lovely glaze and extra special taste. (Of course, you can always use a store-bought crust, almond paste, and canned pears!)
This pear-frangipane tart marries those three recipes into a crowd-pleasing, impressive dessert, and taking the extra steps of making all the ingredients from scratch is super easy, too!
What Is Pear-Frangipane Tart?
A pear-frangipane tart is a classic French dessert that looks fancy but is actually quite simple to make! Essentially, you need to make it in four steps. First, you need to bake your pie crust; then, you need to whisk your frangipane with an egg and spread it over the bottom of the pie shell, top with sliced poached pears, and bake!
What You Need To Make Pear-Frangipane Tart
- Measuring cups and spoons
- 9-inch (23cm) tart pan with a removable bottom
- Parchment paper
- Pie weights (beans/rice)
How To Make Pear-Frangipane Tart
You really won’t believe how quickly this tart comes together. Here’s how you make a pear-frangipane tart (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Roll out and line the pie crust into a 9-inch (23cm) tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Using a fork, prick the dough all over. Then, line the dough with parchment paper and fill it with your pie weights. (You can use dry beans or rice. The goal here is to keep the bottom of the tart flat instead of letting it bake up.) Bake for 15 minutes.
- Lower the heat to 350°F (180°C). Bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the pie weights and let the pie crust cool for 10 minutes.
- Whisk together the frangipane and the egg. Spread the mixture in the bottom of the baked tart shell.
- Take the poached pear halves and slice them crosswise into thin slices. Arrange the slices on top of the frangipane, with the narrow ends pointing toward the center. Press down slightly onto the pears.
- Bake the tart until the filling is set. This should take about 50-60 minutes.
- Allow the tart to cool for 10 minutes. If you are using the strained apricot jam for a shine, brush it on after 10 minutes.
- Allow the tart to cool completely before serving.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips For Making Pear-Frangipane Tart
- To save time, you can prebake the pie crust a day or two in advance and store it at room temperature until you are ready to add the frangipane and pears and bake.
- The poached pears can also be made up to two days in advance. Store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the tart.
- Poached pears are super easy to make, but feel free to use canned pears for this recipe as well.
- Use my pie crust recipe, frangipane recipe, and poached pear recipe!
How Do I Store Pear-Frangipane Tart?
You can store any leftover pear-frangipane tart at room temperature, loosely covered, for up to 2 days.
Make More Pie Recipes!
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Elegant Pear & Frangipane Tart Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Homemade pie crust (or store-bought)
- ¾ cup (6oz/170g) frangipane
- 1 large egg
- 3 poached pears halved and cored
- 1 tablespoon apricot jam heated and strained (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Roll out and line the pie crust into a 9-inch (23cm) tart pan with a removable bottom.
- Prick the dough all over with a fork, line with parchment and pie weights (beans/rice), and bake for 15 minutes.
- Lower the heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the pie weights and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Whisk the frangipane with the egg and evenly spread it in the bottom of the baked tart shell.
- Slice the poached pear halves crosswise into thin slices and arrange on top of the frangipane, narrow ends pointing towards the center. Press down slightly onto the pears.
- Bake until the filling is set, about 50-60 minutes.
- Let the tart cool for 10 minutes, then brush with the strained apricot jam for shine (optional).
- Let cool completely before serving. Store any leftovers at room temperature, loosely covered, for up to 2 days.
Hi. Can I use apples instead of pears?
Hi! Can I use a Graham cracker crust instead? Would it burn since this needs to be baked for almost an hour?
Wonderful recipe! I made a couple of substitutions: used a pâte sucrée crust and closer to 1 cup of frangipane, and didn’t brush it with apricot jam once baked. We enjoyed the tart during our family’s Easter brunch and a (very picky) relative said she felt as if she were in a Parisian café. Thanks Gemma!
Hi Gemma, I made the recipe exactly as stated but found that the amount of Frangipane was not nearly enough for a 9″ flan tin. It only came halfway up my pastry case. Next time I think I will double the amount.
Hi Gemma, I made an apple almond tart which called for frangipane and apples instead of pears as in this recipe. The frangipane filling was made by combining an egg,butter,almond meal and some flour along with sugar and vanilla. I tried to substitute the egg with some buttermilk to experiment. What I found out was that, the filling/frangipane did not set and become stable, like the original recipe or like yours did.It was still somewhat a paste and did not puff, neither changed in texture. Would you help me know why that was the case? I am planning to use… Read more »
Hi Gemma, Is the frangipane also called almond paste?
Happy New Year Gemma, I have some marzipan left over from making Christmas cakes, can I use this instead of frangipani?