Pear Almond Frangipane Tart

Happy 2017. Let me tell you, 2016 was really not that bad in its entirety as so many have been saying the past few weeks. Yes, some controversial events took place, but personally last year took this fantastic 180° turn for me, and I feel like myself again after a long hiatus. "New year, new me" as they say! One of our dear family friends once told me that you must be grateful go those who are good to you, and that is a piece of advice I will always hold close to me throughout my life. 2017 is already looking like it is going to be a wonderful time, so I will enjoy each day to the fullest, as I have a tremendous amount of tomorrows. Onward to this lovely frangipane.

One of my current roommates has been so fascinated with PBS's The Great British Bake-Off with Mary Berry, so I decided to jump on board and watch some of the masterclasses. Essentially, Mary and Paul bake various traditional British goodies in which I discovered what an apricot frangipane tart was. I decided to tackle the tart by switching it to one that had pears and was dairy-free. It was a challenge but was a hit. I've never made pastry dough or poached pears in my entire life, so that was a new little bump in the road to tackle. Long story short, here it is.

---

INGREDIENTS

Pastry dough:

• 1 cup flour
• 7 tbsp butter, softened (I use Earth Balance for a dairy-free recipe)
• 3.5 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg

Almond filling:

• 12 tbsp butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 ground almonds
• 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 4 tbsp apple butter

​Poached pears:

• 4 cups water
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup Moscato
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 slightly underripe pears

Topping:

• Apricot jam
• Chopped almonds

---

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Using a food processor, slowly add each ingredient for the pastry dough and mix until blended and dough-like. Feel free to add  more flour for a firmer dough. 
2. Roll dough into a ball, place in cling-wrap and put in the fridge for about 20 minutes.
3. Lightly grease a tart pan, then remove the inner circle.
4. Once the dough is chilled, roll it out into a large circle onto a floured surface. Carefully slip the tart pan's inner circle underneath the dough to lift it into the tart pan.
5. Mold the dough so that it fits evenly into the pan, then lightly prick the base of the dough with a fork. Place back in the fridge for 10 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove the tart pan from the fridge and cover lightly with parchment paper. Pour ceramic baking beans on top of the parchment to allow the crust to bake without puffing up. Place in oven for about 15 minutes.
7. Once the crust is light brown, remove the parchment and beans and place the tart back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
8. In the same food processor used earlier, pulse all the ingredients for the almond filling, except the apple butter.
9. When the crust is done and is slightly cooled, lightly spoon the apple butter into the crust and spread evenly along the base. Pour the almond filling in, ensuring it does not overfill.
10. Bake for another 40 minutes or until the filling is set. Allow to cool completely. I let my tart sit overnight, but two hours should be enough.
11. Pear Poaching:  Peel the pears, then cut in half. Using a small melon scoop, remove the seeds. In a large pot, bring the mixture of water, moscato, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to a simmer. Place pears in and make sure they are covered completely. Feel free to cut a circle of parchment paper with a smaller opening in the middle to put on top of the pears to help them sink.
12. Poach them for about 20 minutes, or until they are slightly translucent. Remove from liquid, and allow the liquid to continue simmering until it reduces into a thin syrup. Cut the pears into this slices and arrange on top of the tart in a circular fashion.
13. Drizzle the tart with a little bit of the remaining syrup, then brush the top with apricot jam. Sprinkle with almonds, and that is all! You have successfully made a frangipane tart. Shout out to Mary Berry.