Pearfrangipane Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Fit into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and fold over to make a double-thick edge. Roll rolling pin over edge of tart pan to trim dough, and pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, ground almonds, rum, almond extract, and flour; beat until smooth. Spread the thick mixture evenly in chilled tart shell and refrigerate while preparing pears.
• Remove cooled poached pears from poaching liquid and cut in half lengthwise, removing the core and stem. Reserve poaching liquid. Place each half, cut side down, on a cutting board, and cut crosswise into thin slices. Arrange sliced pear halves on frangipane filling around edge of tart, leaving space between each half, and place one half in center of tart. When arranging pears, try to "pull" slices toward center of tart, which will elongate pears a bit and fill the shell better than if the pears were just placed flat. Bake for 10 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees, and bake until tart shell is golden brown and frangipane has puffed and browned, 25 to 35 minutes more.
• While tart is baking, bring reserved poaching liquid to a boil and reduce by half. Brush this glaze lightly over pears immediately after removing tart from oven. Serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• Combine the almond cream ingredients and in a pastry bag with a large opening (no tip) and set aside. Halve the puff pastry and roll each into an 8 1/2-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick.
• Place 1 of the circles on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Pipe a 5-inch diameter mound of almond cream in the center of the circle. The mound should be about 1-inch high. Prepare the egg wash: Whisk together the egg yolks, whole egg, and milk in a small bowl until well combined.
• Lightly brush the remaining 1 1/2-inch rim of the pastry circle with the egg wash. Place the second circle of puff pastry over the first. Gently press against the sides of the almond cream mound to remove any trapped air. Seal the edges of the 2 layers by pressing the top edge into the bottom edge. Use a sharp knife to give the circle a fluted edge like a flower. Use a sharp knife to pierce a 1/2-inch slit in the top layer at the center. This will allow steam to escape during baking. To make the classic pattern in the top, use a sharp knife to score a curved line that begins at the top of the mound and ends at the bottom of the mound. Repeat this line every 1/2 inch around the circumference of the mound, but be careful not to cut through the top layer and into the almond cream. Lightly brush the top with egg wash.
• Let the frangipane rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour before baking. (At this point, you can wrap the frangipane well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 weeks. Let it thaw in the refrigerator or in your backpack before baking.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake until it begins to brown slightly, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: Stir together the corn syrup and water.
• Remove the frangipane from the oven and brush it well with the corn syrup mixture. This adds sweetness, enhances the color, and gives it a crispy crust. Continue to bake until well risen and evenly browned, about another 20 minutes. The baked frangipane should be flaky and tender, and the almond cream center still moist. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. The frangipane is best when served while it is still slightly warm. Use a serrated knife to slice it.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Pulse hazelnuts with 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until finely ground, then add flour and pulse to combine.
• Beat together butter and remaining 1/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in extracts. Reduce speed to low and mix in nut mixture until just combined.
• Spread frangipane filling evenly in tart shell. Peel, halve, and core pears, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, holding slices together to keep pear shape intact. Arrange pears decoratively on filling, fanning slices slightly. Bake until pears are golden and frangipane is puffed and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Brush pears (not filling) with preserves and cool tart completely in pan on rack, then remove side of pan.

Steps:

• Make the dough: Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a sturdy whisk, beat together sugar, salt, eggs and butter. Fold in flour and knead the dough into a ball. Squash the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or up to 2 days before using. (Dough can also be frozen up to 2 months.) Roll out dough using a lightly floured rolling pin or press dough into a 10-inch French tart pan. Freeze or refrigerate tart shell while you make the filling. (It is not necessary to blind bake the tart shell.)
• Make the filling: Whisk together almonds, sugar, butter, egg yolks and whole egg until creamy, then whisk in rum and almond extract.
• Spread the frangipane batter evenly over the bottom of tart shell, and arrange pear slices over in a circular pattern. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake at 375 degrees, for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. (If pastry is browning too quickly, loosely cover edges with foil.) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden but not too dark and a toothpick pushed into the center of the tart comes out clean. If it doesn't, bake a few minutes longer.

Steps:

• 1. If using whole or sliced almonds, grind them in the food processor as finely as possible without turning them into a paste. Set aside.
• 2. Using the stand mixer or a medium bowl and the handheld mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes if using a stand mixer or 3 to 4 minutes if using a handheld mixer, or until light. Add the ground almonds or the almond flour and beat on medium speed for 1 minute, or until thoroughly incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Or, use a medium bowl and a wooden spoon; creaming the butter and sugar will take 4 to 5 minutes and incorporating the nuts or almond flour will take about 1 1/2 minutes.
• 3. With the mixer on low speed or with the wooden spoon, beat in the eggs until blended. Add the all-purpose flour, vanilla, and salt and beat just until combined. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. If refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before using. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before using.