Shared Kitchen

Real food from scratch

  • Home
  • About us
  • Cook’s notes
  • Ilaria’s Kitchenette
  • Shop
  • Search

Frangipane Pear Tartlets

—

20 April 2015 BY Julie Biuso
SERVES: Makes 8

Frangipane pear tartlet

Photography Julie Biuso

This is a knock-your-socks-off kinda dessert, which to be fair, requires a certain amount of dexterity to pull off (I'd have an extra pear or two on hand just in case you stuff up!). But the rewards ... well, expect plenty of 'oohhhs' and 'ahhhhs' when you serve them up. Frangipane pear tartlets can't fail to win hearts.

Ingredients
—

Rich shortcrust pastry 225g (8 ounces) plain (US all-purpose) flour A pinch of salt 1 Tbsp caster sugar 170g (6 ounces) unsalted butter, firm but pliable, cubed 1 small (size 5) free-range egg yolk 4 Tbsp chilled water Pears and glaze 4 cups water ½ cup caster (superfine granulated) sugar 8 small pears, peeled, stalks intact Small jar inexpensive apricot jam 1 Tbsp lemon juice Frangipane 100g (3½ ounces) unsalted butter, softened 100g (3½ ounces) caster (superfine granulated) sugar 1 large (size 7) free-range eggs, plus 1 large egg yolk 100g (3½ ounces) ground almonds 2 Tbsp plain (US all-purpose) flour

Method
—

1 To make the pastry, put flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade and whiz briefly. Add butter and process briefly until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix egg yolk and water together and pour into the processor through the feed tube. Pulse until mixture gathers in large clumps. Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. (Alternatively, sieve flour, salt and sugar into a bowl, cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender, then rub in with fingertips. Mix in egg yolk and water, then bring together into a smooth ball of dough.) Wrap in plastic food wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2 Roll out pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface and line into 8 loose-bottomed 10cm diameter metal tartlet tins (if necessary, re-roll scraps and cut out more rounds). Prick bottom of tartlets with a fork and chill until pastry is firm.

3 Put water and sugar in a saucepan big enough to hold the pears, set pan over a gentle heat and dissolve sugar. Stir gently with a metal spoon towards the end. Once all the sugar is dissolved, bubble up and boil for 2 minutes. Add peeled pears, cover with a lid and poach gently for about 30 minutes or until nearly tender. This is the tricky bit. You need to turn the pears often, and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t turn to slush. Remove each pear from the syrup as it is done and cool.

4 Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). To make the frangipane filling, whip butter and sugar together in a food processor until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl. With machine running, gradually whip in the egg and extra yolk, then the ground almonds and flour. Spoon 2-3 Tbsp frangipane into each pastry-lined tin, and spread it evenly with a knife (any leftover frangipane can be stored in the refrigerator and used within 3-4 days). Slice pears carefully with a small sharp knife, cutting from the top by the core to the base, removing pips and core, but leaving slices attached to the stalk (see how they look in the photo). Put pears on top of frangipane, splaying the slices.

5 Bake tartlets for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes. Slip tartlets out of tins and put them on a cooling rack.

6 Heat apricot jam in a small saucepan with lemon juice. Bring to the boil, stirring, then pass it through a metal sieve and discard lumps. The glaze, while hot, should drop from a spoon and leave the spoon coated. Thin it with a little water if necessary, or bubble it to reduce it if it’s too thin. When ready to use the glaze, reheat to boiling point and use while it is very hot. Brush pears and pastry rim with hot apricot glaze, then leave tartlets to cool completely before serving.

For more information on baking ingredients Baking Ingredients

Frangipane pear tartlet

a little pear tart

Share Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
share on Tumblr
Tumblr
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You might also like...

Prune & Frangipane Tart
make this your go-to dessert when you want a big sumptuous tart to serve at the end of a dinner party.
Read more
Pears
Pears are often overlooked for novel or exotic fruit and I reckon it’s because we’ve lost the art of ripening them and we’re eating them hard.
Read more
Pears & Parmesan – oh yeah!
Pears & parmesan may sound a little quirky, but read here why it is such a great combination.
Read more

About this blog

Julie Biuso

Shared Kitchen is an ongoing collaboration between longtime New Zealand food personality Julie Biuso and upstart food blogger Ilaria Biuso.

Subscribe

Keep up to date with all the latest.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Essentials

  • 10 minutes with…
  • Tastings
  • Kitchen things we like
  • Reviews
  • Sites I like
  • Weights & measures
  • Copyright & disclaimer

Categories

  • Recently posted
  • Julie’s Blog
  • Ilaria’s Blog & Recipes
  • Special occasions
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Autumn
  • Winter
  • Wine & drinks

Posts by month

  • + 2022
    • June (101)
    • May (70)
    • April (79)
    • March (116)
    • February (80)
    • January (9)
  • + 2021
    • December (13)
    • November (17)
    • October (13)
    • September (21)
    • August (12)
    • July (14)
    • June (13)
    • May (9)
    • April (10)
    • March (15)
    • February (11)
    • January (13)
  • + 2020
    • December (11)
    • November (16)
    • October (21)
    • September (19)
    • August (10)
    • July (7)
    • June (4)
    • May (4)
    • April (28)
    • March (15)
    • February (25)
    • January (13)
  • + 2019
    • December (18)
    • November (21)
    • October (18)
    • September (24)
    • August (27)
    • July (30)
    • June (19)
    • May (30)
    • April (38)
    • March (23)
    • February (24)
    • January (18)
  • + 2018
    • December (21)
    • November (25)
    • October (28)
    • September (23)
    • August (26)
    • July (27)
    • June (27)
    • May (25)
    • April (15)
    • March (20)
    • February (22)
    • January (19)
  • + 2017
    • December (13)
    • November (22)
    • October (23)
    • September (18)
    • August (25)
    • July (17)
    • June (22)
    • May (21)
    • April (19)
    • March (25)
    • February (19)
    • January (23)
  • + 2016
    • December (8)
    • November (17)
    • October (21)
    • September (22)
    • August (23)
    • July (13)
    • June (19)
    • May (22)
    • April (17)
    • March (21)
    • February (15)
    • January (15)
  • + 2015
    • December (20)
    • November (17)
    • October (10)
    • September (23)
    • August (16)
    • July (6)
    • June (13)
    • May (17)
    • April (8)
    • March (12)
    • February (8)
    • January (21)
  • + 2014
    • December (4)
    • November (2)
Shared Kitchen Online Shop

SHARED KITCHEN COOKBOOK

Buy our Shared Kitchen Cookbook

Get a signed copy by Julie & Ilaria Biuso

Julie & Ilaria Biuso Win BEST IN THE WORLD 2021 GOURMAND BOOK AWARDS

SHARED KITCHEN Real Food From Scratch wins 2021 Gourmand Award

SHARED KITCHEN Real Food From Scratch has won Best In The World in the Blogger category at the Gourmand Cookbook Awards announced in Paris this month.

Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2015 Best Food Blogsite New Zealand

Gourmand Cookbook Awards 2015 Best Food Blogsite New Zealand

PRESS COVERAGE

Print  Radio  Television

Shared Kitchen radio and print interviews

Shared Kitchen

Shared Kitchen
Julie Biuso
2020

  • Home
  • About us
  • Cook’s notes
  • Ilaria’s kitchenette

© 2020 Please see our copyright page for conditions on use of content here

  • Home
  • About us
  • Ilaria’s Kitchenette
  • Store
  • Categories
    • Special occasions
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Baking
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
    • Winter
    • Wine & drinks
    • Back
  • Essentials
    • 10 minutes with…
    • Kitchen things we like
    • Recently posted
    • Reviews
    • Tastings
    • Tips & tricks
    • Something for the weekend
    • Weights & measures
    • What’s at the farmers’ markets
    • Back