Pear and Almond Frangipane Tart

Finally, my photos are up! Had been trying for days, but the photos just stubbornly would'nt want to show their apearance, even on flickr. Well well, be it pretty or ugly, I think they deserves to be up here, cos afterall, it's a sharing of my successes/failures with everyone out there, where I can improve with every new recipe that I experiment (Though I have to say there are some which I have no time to share about with all, but you may enjoy the photos if you want, but pardon for my poor photography skills! :P ).

This is a lovely tart which I knew would definitely taste good even before I attempted. Buttery ground almonds crust.. reminds me of Chinese New Year almond cookies. I paired with sweet pear, though you may substitute with peaches, apples or plum.

I finally utilise the 16-cm tart shell which I bought for almost a year. :P

Ingredients:

Pastry
80g flour
20g ground almond
30g caster sugar
40g unsalted butter , soften at room temperature
1 tablespoon (15g) lightly beaten egg

Filling
85g ground almond
75g caster sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (I omitted this)
1/2 egg
30g butter
1 pear, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced

Method:

Pastry Base

1. Lightly grease an 16cm tart pan, set aside.
2. Toast almond powder at 100°C for 10 mins. Stirring in between. Let cool.
   Sieve flour and almond meal. (I bought store-bought grounded almond which were too huge to pass through the sieve so i only sifted the flour).
3. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy (I cream manually with spoon).
4. Add in egg, very gradually, whisking the batter till well mixed each time the egg is added.
   Sieve over the flour/almond meal mixture in 2 to 3 additions into the batter. Fold the mixture gently with a spatula.
5. Form and shape the pastry into a round ball.
6. Chilled dough for at least 1 hour.
7. Roll out the pastry in between 2 sheets of cling wrap or baking paper.
8. Remove one side of the cling wrap or baking paper. Place it over the prepared tart pan.
9. Mould the pastry into the tart pan, smoothing the edges and the rim carefullyChill the pastry in Use a fork to poke holes on the pastry. Brush the top of the rim with egg wash.
10. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180°C for 10 ~12mins until the edges are slightly browned. Let cool completely.

Filling

1. Cream butter and sugar till the mixture turns fluffy. Add in the egg gradually, mix well each time the egg is added.
2. Add in ground almond. Fold with a spatula till well incorporated. Sieve over the flour onto the mixture. Mix with a spatula. Add in vanilla and mix well.
   Spread the filling onto the cooled pastry base. Ensure that the edges are filled up. Line with pear slices. Make sure the slices are well drained.
3. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170°C for 30 ~ 35 mins, until the edges and filling turn golden brown.
4. Let cool, and dust with some icing sugar if desired.

Recipe Source: Happy HomeBaking's Peach Tart (tart shell recipe) and Williams-Sonoma's Essential of Baking (recipe for the filling)

Note: I used a 16-cm tart shell and I have leftover batter. For the leftover, I made 2 more small tartlets.

Besides the tart being too sweet, it was truly good. :D