Pear Tart With Hazelnut Frangipane Food

HAZELNUT FRANGIPANE PEAR TART

Steps:

• Cut the cold dough in pieces and reknead into a disc. On a floured table, press the disc, evening the circle as you go, until it is about 6 inches in diameter. Flour the surface of the dough and roll in into a circle measuring about 1 1/2 inches bigger than the 9-inch tart mold. Flour as much as you need to prevent the dough from sticking. Brush off any excess flour, fold the dough in half and center it over the mold. Press along the bottom edge and side to even it. Press any excess dough from the bottom edge up the sides so that they are thicker. Cut off any excess dough with a rolling pin and press the sides up so it extends about 1/8-inch above the rim. Dock the bottom with a fork and freeze.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the frozen tart shell until the center barely begins to color, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.
• Lower oven to 350 degrees. Combine the nuts and confectioner's sugar in a food processor and process to a fine powder, about 30 seconds. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the nut powder and mix thoroughly, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add the egg in three parts, beating after each addition on medium high speed, until very light and fluffy. Add the almond and vanilla extracts. On low speed, mix in the flour just until incorporated.
• Spread the jam on the bottom of the prebaked shell and then spread evenly with the frangipane. Slice the pears in half and core. Cut each half in very thin slices from blossom to stem, leaving them attached at the stem end. Cut off the end pieces and cut each half in quarters. Fan out each quarter and arrange the 6 fans in a circle over the frangipane, stems to the center. Be sure to leave some space between the fans so the filling can rise up around them. Brush the pears lightly with melted butter. Bake about 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is golden brown and crusty. If the rim is getting too dark, cover the edge with foil or pie guards. Cool in the mold on a rack; remove the outer ring after 10 minutes. Slip a flexible metal palate knife between the tart and the metal bottom and slide off the tart. Cool completely on a rack before serving. Cut with a sharp serrated knife.

DRUNKEN PEAR FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Roll piecrust to increase the circumference enough to fit the tart pan. Place piecrust into a removable bottom tart pan and set aside in refrigerator.
• Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together, whip until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add ground almonds, rum, egg, almond extract and flour; beat until smooth. This is the frangipane. Spread evenly into the chilled tart shell, and refrigerate.
• Combine raspberry lager, sugar, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla bean in a 6-quart stockpot. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Add peeled pears, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered until pears are tender when pierced, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove cooled poached pears from liquid, and halve each lengthwise; removing core and stem. Place each half, cut side down, on a cutting board, and cut crosswise into thin slices. Arrange the fanned pear slices on chilled frangipane evenly. Bake the tart for 40 to 45 minutes or until the shell is golden brown and frangipane is puffed and brown.
• In a saucepan, melt the apricot jam and brush the top of the tart with a pastry brush as soon as it comes out of the oven. Cool the tart to room temperature before slicing.
• When arranging the pears, try to stretch slices toward the center of the tart, which will elongate the pears a bit and fill the shell better than if the pears were just placed flat.

PEAR TART WITH HAZELNUT FRANGIPANE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 C, Gas number 4) and place rack in middle of oven.
• Place all whole hazelnuts (for crust, frangipane and any extra for decoration) in a single layer on a sheet pan and place in oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown and nutty smelling. Shake the pan halfway through cooking to ensure the nuts brown evenly. Remove from oven and immediately transfer to a plate to cool to stop the cooking process.
• To the bowl of a food processor, add the sugar, salt and 34g (¼ cup) cooled hazelnuts. Pulse until hazelnuts are finely ground.
• Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the hazelnut mixture and butter. Mix well to combine, and continue beating on medium high until mixture is pale and fluffy, about two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and mix until just combined. It will be coarse and grainy. Add the egg yolk and mix for about 30 seconds. The dough should start to pull together into a ball.
• Flatten the dough into a disc shape and wrap well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit on counter to soften slightly. Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to a 10 inch diameter circle.
• Peel off one layer of parchment. (If the dough is very soft and wants to stick, place it back into the fridge to firm up for a few minutes). Carefully transfer dough to the 9 inch tart pan by turning it upside down on top of the pan and peeling off the remaining parchment. Gently press the dough down into the pan and up the sides, ensuring that no empty space remains between the dough and the corners of the pan. If cracks or tears occur, patch with extra dough scraps. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. After chilling, trim the excess dough flush with the tart edge with a knife held parallel to your work surface.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 C, Gas number 6). Remove tart pan from refrigerator and line the tart dough with a piece of parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans (I use and reuse the latter) to keep the dough from puffing up. Bake for 6 minutes and then carefully lift the weight-filled parchment from the pan. Return to the oven to bake an additional 6 minutes. Place on a baking rack to cool. If crust has slumped at all, use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to gently press the crust back into shape along the edge and base.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 C, Gas number 4) and place rack in middle of oven.
• To the bowl of a food processor, add 1 cup of toasted hazelnuts and sugar. Process until hazelnuts are very finely ground. Add flour, lemon zest, vanilla, spices and eggs. Scatter the butter over the top. Process until well mixed. You may need to stop the processor to scrape down the sides partway through. Pour filling into cooled tart shell. Use an offset spatula to smooth the filling evenly around the entire shell.
• Slice pears in half lengthwise, from stem to base. Carefully remove core, leaving stem intact for decoration. Place pear halves flat side down. Starting about 1/2" below the top, slice pears into around 8-10 thin strips, keeping the top intact. Gently fan out the pieces, making sure not to break them off. Place, curved side up, onto top of frangipane. Cover frangipane with remainder of pear halves. As space becomes limited, cut 2-3 strips of the sliced pears, fan them out, and tuck them into smaller areas, trimming pears as needed for best fit.
• Cover the tart crust with foil to protect it from getting too dark while baking. Don't skip this step! You can use a pie shield or a homemade foil version.
• Place tart on a baking sheet and bake for 55-60 minutes, until pear slices are golden and frangipane filling is puffed, golden brown, and no longer moist.
• Set on a baking rack to cool. Immediately before serving, sprinkle with chopped toasted hazelnuts and dust with powdered sugar by placing the powdered sugar in a small sieve and tapping it (gently!) with your hand as you move it over the tart. May be served plain or with a bit of whipped cream, maple sweetened mascarpone, or vanilla ice cream.

FRANGIPANE PEAR TART

Steps:

• Combine water, 1 cup white sugar, honey, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and cardamom in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add pears; reduce heat and simmer until pears are translucent or easily pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Combine 1 1/2 cup flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix in egg yolk until dough sticks together in large clumps.
• Grease a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough evenly into the pan. Freeze for 30 minutes. Reserve leftover dough for patching cracks.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Grease the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil with butter; place butter-side down over the pastry. Transfer tart pan to a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven, using leftover dough to patch any cracks, until dough looks dry and light brown, about 20 minutes. Peel off aluminum foil; let pastry cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Combine 2/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in ground almonds. Add egg, egg yolk, 2 teaspoons flour, and cornstarch; beat until frangipane is smooth. Beat in almond extract and vanilla extract.
• Spread frangipane evenly over the pastry. Drain pear halves and dry with paper towels. Cut lengthwise into even slices. Place 1 pear half on a spatula and gently fan out slices. Place on frangipane. Repeat with remaining pear halves.
• Bake in the preheated oven until frangipane is firm to the touch, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

PEAR FRANGIPANE TART

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.

HAZELNUT, PEAR AND CARDAMOM TART

Steps:

• Prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 3.
• When ready to make the pie, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet until evenly browned and skins are loosened, 25 to 30 minutes. While they are still warm, rub them together in a dish towel to remove the skins. Cool the skinned hazelnuts, and then blitz them to a fine meal with the flour in the food processor. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Crush the cardamom pods and retrieve the seeds, discarding the pods, then crush the seeds to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.
• In a food processor, cream the butter, granulated sugar and crushed cardamom until pale and fluffy. With the machine running, add eggs one at a time, emulsifying each one fully before adding the next, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Transfer to the bowl with the hazelnut meal and stir to combine. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• While the frangipane chills, shape and bake the crust: Working over an 11-inch fluted tart pan, prepare the Shortcut Pie Crust through Step 4, then chill, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. (This can be done ahead.)
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the chilled crust until just-cooked but not browned, about 15 minutes. (The crust will continue to cook while the tart bakes, so expect it to darken in color when it bakes the second time.) Cool completely.
• Scoop the hazelnut frangipane into the crust. (Don't try to spread it; it will distribute itself evenly as it cooks.) Nestle the pears into the frangipane, tucking some underneath the frangipane and leaving others on top.
• Bake on a baking sheet until the frangipane is fully set in the center and the crust is golden brown, 75 to 90 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely, then remove from the pan and serve with crème fraîche.

PEAR AND HAZELNUT FRANGIPANE TART

Steps:

• Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the cold butter and pulse ten times until the butter is the size of large peas. Add 3 tablespoons of cold water and pulse until it comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and bring the dough together, forming a disk. Wrap in Reynolds® Parchment Paper and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Fill a 9-inch tart mold or rectangle tart mold with the dough. Cut off excess from the top and refrigerate for another 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover the top of the dough with Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil and weigh down with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights and let cool.
• Combine the hazelnuts and sugar in the food processor. Pulse to a fine powder. Add the butter, egg, flour, vanilla, rum and salt. Process until it comes together as a paste.
• Spread the mixture over the partially baked tart. On the top, arrange the pear slices in a pattern. Bake the tart for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing.