poached pear and frangipane tart
A beautiful poached pear and almond frangipane tart made with tender poached pears, rich almond cream and buttery pastry. An easy but impressive pear dessert that’s perfect for entertaining - a true show‑stopping bake for any elegant dinner party.
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Servings: 8
Ingredients
Sweet pastry
- 340 grams plain flour
- 150 grams cold cubed Butter
- 90 grams icing sugar
- 2 eggs
- pinch salt
Poached pears
- 4 pears
- 150 grams sugar
- 1 lemon
- 1 orange
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- water
Frangipane
- 150 grams soft butter
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 150 grams ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon almond essence
Glaze
- apricot jam
- poached pear liquid
Instructions
Make the pastry
- Sift the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add the cold, cubed butter and rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Lightly whisk the eggs, pour them into the bowl and bring the dough together with a fork, then your hands. Shape into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Poach the pears
- While the pastry chills, peel the pears, slice them in half and scoop out the cores. Place them in a pan with the sugar, vanilla essence, sliced lemon, sliced orange and a cinnamon stick. Add enough water to cover. Gently simmer for 10–15 minutes until tender. Leave to cool in the poaching liquid.
Blind bake the pastry tart case
- Lightly flour a 20cm fluted tart tin. Roll out the chilled pastry and line the tin, leaving some overhang to allow for shrinkage. Prick the base with a fork and chill again for 30 minutes.
- Blind bake: Line the pastry with foil and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake at 190°C for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, then bake for a further 7–10 minutes until dry but not browned.
- Trim the edges: Using a sharp knife (a bread knife works well), carefully trim the overhanging pastry for a neat finish
Make the frangipane
- In a bowl, beat together the softened butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds and almond essence until smooth and creamy. I use an electric whisk
assemble the tart and bake
- Spread the frangipane mixture evenly into the tart case. Slice the cooled pears and fan them out on top as shown in the step‑by‑step photos.
- Bake at 190°C for 40–45 minutes until the top is lightly golden and the frangipane is set.
- Glaze: Warm 2 tablespoon apricot jam with 2 tablespoon water in the microwave. Brush gently over the tart for a glossy, elegant finish
Notes
- Simple but stunning - This poached pear and frangipane tart looks like a bakery showpiece but is genuinely an easy but impressive dessert for entertaining.
- Perfect poached pears - Let the pears cool in their syrup - it’s the secret to the best poached pear recipe ever with beautiful flavour all the way through.
- Classic almond cream - The frangipane (almond cream) gives that rich, soft centre every great almond and pear tart recipe needs.
- Dinner‑party ready - A true show‑stopping holiday dessert that wouldn’t look out of place in a Mary Berry or BBC Good Food spread.
- Make‑ahead friendly - The sweet shortcrust pastry and poached pears can be prepared in advance, making this a stress‑free, elegant dinner party dessert.