Danjou Pear And Almond Tarts Recipes

D'ANJOU PEAR AND ALMOND TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Stir brown sugar, melted butter, balsamic vinegar, and cinnamon together in a bowl; stir in pears and chopped almonds until completely coated. Spoon pear mixture into tart shells.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 45 minutes.

PEAR AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Whisk egg yolks and apple cider in small bowl to blend. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add chilled butter and process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk mixture and process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; chill while preparing filling. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)
• For filling:
• Position rack in lowest third of oven. Preheat to 375°F. Blend almond paste and sugar in processor until almond paste is finely ground. Add 1/4 cup flour and 3 tablespoons room-temperature butter and process until thick paste forms. Add eggs and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Spread filling in crust; cover and chill while preparing pears.
• Peel pears. Cut each pear in half lengthwise and core. Slice 1 pear half crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Press on pear half to fan slices toward wider end. Slide spatula under pear half and place atop tart filling, positioning narrow end of pear in center of tart and wider end against crust. Repeat with remaining pear halves. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Brush over pears.
• Bake tart until pears are tender and crust is brown, about 50 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. Remove from pan and serve warm or at room temperature. (Tart can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

PEAR AND ALMOND TART

Steps:

• Make dough:
• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Beat together yolk and water with a fork and stir into flour mixture until combined well.
• Knead mixture gently in bowl with floured hands just until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 4 or 5 times more. Form dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk.
• Chill, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.
• Make tart shell:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round.
• Slide bottom of tart pan (separate from rim) under dough and set into rim of tart pan. Cut off excess dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang, and fold overhang inward. Press dough against side of pan, pushing dough 1/4 inch above rim. Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork and chill until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is pale golden, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Carefully remove weights and foil and bake shell until golden, 15 to 25 minutes more. Leave oven on.
• Make filling and bake tart:
• Put a heavy baking sheet in oven. Peel and core pears, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices. Toss pears with 1 tablespoon pear brandy in a bowl, then arrange, overlapping, in tart shell. Put a pie shield on tart pan or cover rim with foil and transfer to baking sheet in oven. Bake just until pears are barely tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Whisk together eggs, yolk, sugar, vanilla, crème fraîche, a pinch of salt, and remaining 1 tablespoons pear brandy until smooth. Pour over pears.
• Bake until custard is just set 2 inches from edge, about 18 minutes. Remove from oven and remove pie shield.
• Make topping and finish baking tart:
• Stir together all topping ingredients, then gently sprinkle over custard and bake until top is pale golden, about 15 minutes more. Cool tart to warm or room temperature in pan on a rack.

D'ANJOU PEAR AND ALMOND TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Stir brown sugar, melted butter, balsamic vinegar, and cinnamon together in a bowl; stir in pears and chopped almonds until completely coated. Spoon pear mixture into tart shells.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 45 minutes.