This classic pear fruit tart demonstrates the use of puff pastry with rich almond cream
and delicious juicy pears in season. Here, you have an example of how building on basic steps in pastry can come together
to delight the palate. The ultimate pleasure is in the taste and texture of the crust, cream and fruit together.
· Puff pastry dough, one sheet
· 12 ripe
to semi-ripe pears* Bosc or Bartlett
· 1/4
cup sugar
· 2 TB. lemon juice, or zest of one lemon
· 2 TB.
Poire Willliams liquor, cognac or Amaretto.
· 2/3
cup almond cream
· 1/3 stick butter
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease a tart pan with a removable bottom.
3. Roll pastry dough out into tart pan with a removable bottom.
4. Place a piece of greased aluminum foil with pie beans in it to prevent
dough from rising while baking. You can also use the greased bottom of a pan which is the same size as the diameter of the
tart base.
5. Bake in pre-heated oven about 6-8 min. Remove foil or inside pan.
6. While tart dough is baking, prepare pears. Peel, core and slice pears.
7. Combine the sugar, lemon juice or zest and the liquor in a bowl.
8. Toss pears with this and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.
9. Drain just before using.
To assemble
the tart:
1. When pastry dough has cooled, carefully spread an even layer of almond
cream on the baked tart dough.
2. Place the drained pears in neat rows on the tart dough, working from
the outer rim towards the inside.
3. Dot with small pieces of chilled butter.
4. Bake in a 350 F. oven until lightly browned, about 20-30 minutes.
5. Other fruits to substitute
would be peaches, nectarines, prune plums.