Spice up your dessert with this sweet frangipani tart baked to perfection!
Frangipane is a type of dessert filling made from finely ground almonds (almond flour) or almond meal. This filling is also referred to as almond cream. With tender-poached pears soaked in Sauvignon Blanc and star anise, this lovely tart will bring sweet and spicy flavours together so nicely you'll want to have more than just one piece. This sweet dessert recipe may be a little more time-intensive, but with a little planning, you easily make it in advance to reduce the prep time of the day of baking.
To make this beautiful tart, you need a sturdy square cake tin. For this recipe, we used the Le Creuset Square Cake Tin, which features a superb non-stick coating that prevents the tart from sticking to the base and easily releases the baked tart. Dust with powdered sugar or serve with a small dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream for a decadent treat.
Frangipane Tart with Star Anise Poached Pears Recipe
Prep Time: Under 30 Min. | Cook Time: Under 2 Hrs. | Serves: 8-10
Ingredients:
For the pastry:
- 250g cake wheat flour
- 2 Tbsp (30ml) icing sugar
- 1/4 Tsp fine salt
- 150g salted butter, cold
- 1 egg yolk
- 45-60ml ice water
For the frangipane filling:
- 175g salted butter, softened
- 175g castor sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs
- 175g almond flour
- 4 Tsp (20ml) cake wheat flour
- 20ml hazelnut liquor (optional) or 1 1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
For the poaching liquid:
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 750ml (3 cups) white wine (Sauvignon Blanc)
- 110g (1/2 cups) soft brown sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
- 3 star anise
- Peel of 1 lemon
- 4-5 Bosc pears, firm but not ripe, peeled
- 40g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Method:
- For the pastry, place the flour, icing sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse to aerate. Add the butter and process until the texture is roughly crumbed. Whisk the egg yolk and 45ml water together, then add to the flour. Pulse to combine. Drizzle in the remaining water if the dough is slightly crumbly. Turn out and press together lightly. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hour.
- For the frangipane, cream the butter and castor sugar together until pale. Add the eggs and mix to combine. Add the almond flour and cake wheat flour and whisk until creamy. Fold through the liqueur, if using, or vanilla extract.
- For the poached pears, place all the poaching ingredients in a deep saucepan. Bring up to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Lower the pears gently into the liquid and poach for 20-25 minutes, turning the pears several times to ensure even cooking. Remove from the heat and cool in the liquid.
- On a floured board, roll the dough out to a 3mm thickness. Line the Le Creuset Bakeware Square Fluted Tart Tin on the base and sides. Prick the pastry base with a fork and chill until firm.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Spread the frangipane evenly over the pastry case. Halve and core the pears. Slice thinly, then arrange over the frangipane. Scatter the hazelnuts around the sides. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 45-50 minutes. Cover with foil for the last 10 minutes if browning too rapidly.
- Cook’s Note: Reserved poaching liquid can be reduced until syrupy and thick. Serve alongside the tart with softly whipped cream.
Next Read: Poached Peaches with Almond Cream and Amaretti Biscuit Crumb
