Mouthwatering frangipane topped with perfectly sliced Anjou pears in a flakey buttery puff pastry crust. The pears are glazed with a delicate chamomile-honey infused apricot preserve glaze.
When you take a bite, you are invited to a trifecta of perfection: pastry, almond custard, and pear. The butteriness greets you throughout each layer. The frangipane is slightly sweetened and accentuated by the ripeness of the pears. The pears, softened but keep their eloquent shape.
This pear tart is sophistication made easy. Just a few work arounds for perfectly cut pears using a stand-mixer spiralizer attachment and shortcut using pre-made frozen puff pastry. Make a patisserie-quality dessert like the pros.
What’s great is that any imperfect slices of pears can be fed to your pet parrot as a snack!
Inspired by Spring
This dessert is inspired by spring: lemon, chamomile, apricot and honey. I wanted pastry with bright mellow notes. Something that would accompany a nice pot of herbal tea.
The frangipane, made from almond flour, sugar, and pasture raised eggs, is flavored with vanilla and almond extracts and lemon juice. The Anjou pears are peeled, spiralized, and soaked in lemon juice.
The glaze is heated with apricot preserves, honey, lemon peel, chamomile tea, and water. Once heated, it liquifies and becomes thick and sticky. Using a silicone spatula, you brush the pears with the glaze.
When baked, the puff pastry flakes and creates a rigid base to house the frangipane and fruit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of pears can I use for this tart?
For this recipe, I used Anjou pears. You can use Bosc, Anjou, Bartlett (be sure they’re slightly underripe), or Packham pears. You’ll want a pear that’s firm but ripe.
To peel or not to peel?
I choose to peel the pears because of potential pesticide and to avoid having two textures in the fruit. It’s entirely up to you.
What’s the best way to defrost the puff pastry?
On the counter two hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
Which puff pastry is best?
I used Filosophy Vegan Greek puff pastry. It comes with two sheets, each 32cm x 32cm (12,6″ x 12,6″) or 425g. This one is made from shortening. Dufour, a butter-based puff pastry is also good.
Pear Puff Pastry Tart with Chamomile-Honey Infused Apricot Glaze
Equipment
- 1 Baking Sheet
- Stand Mixer with Paddle
- Large core slicing blade attachment (Optional: Sharpened knife)
- Peeler attachment (Optional: Hand-held peeler)
- Cutting Board
- Parchment Paper
- Silicone Bastingn Brush
- 1 Saucepan
Ingredients
Pears
- 3 Anjou Pears
- 1 Lemon Juiced & Grated Peel Reserved
Crust & Filling
- 1 Puff Pastry Sheet Thawed but cold
- ½ cup Unsalted butter Room temperature
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ tsp Almond Extract
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Raw Honey
Glaze
- ⅓ cup Water
- 1 tbsp Apricot Preserves
- 1 tsp Raw Honey
- 1 Chamomile Tea Bag
- Lemon Peel from 1 Lemon
Garnish
- 2 tsp Powdered sugar Optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° Farenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Pears
- Peel pears using a peeler or peeling blade attachment on stand mixer. Using the large core slicing blade, spiralize the pears and set aside. Once all 3 pears are peeled, with a knife carefully cut the stacks in half to create half moon shaped pieces.
- Set sliced pears in a bowl and cover with lemon juice, set aside.
Filling & Assembly
- Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat unsalted butter on medium speed until light. Scape down the bowl as needed. Add sugar, vanilla, and eggs. Add vanilla and almond extracts.
- Mix in almond flour, salt, and honey. Remove lemon juice from pear bowl and add to the almond flour-mixture. Scrape down the bowl and give the batter a mix by hand.
- Place puff pastry sheet onto parchment lined baking sheet.
- Place all almond-flour (frangipane) mixture in center and spread evenly, leaving an inch border.
- Create 9 rows of pear. Lay pear in alternating patterns over frangipane. Fold puff pastry over. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes. This process is important so the puff pastry doesn't bleed. Do not skip this step.
Glaze
- While the tart is chilling, heat all ingredients and teabag to a boil in a small saucepan. Put heat on simmer-low for 7-8 minutes.
- Once thickened, take off heat. Squeeze liquid out of tea bag and dispose of tea bag. Let glaze cool.
- Remove tart out of refrigerator. Brush the tops of the pears with the apricot glaze.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean.
- Let tart cool 20 minutes. Garnish with powdered sugar if you like. Using sharp long knife, cut into 9 squares.
Notes
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
