Cook and Drink

Juicy, sweet ripe pears, frangipane and a crunchy crust, what more can you ask for! This very tasty pear pie is not difficult to make. The only challenge is finding ripe pears. The juicer the better!

Frangipane is a classic from the French pâtisserie and was first mentioned in 1652 by François Pierre (de) La Varenne. His recipe for Tourte de Franchipanne describes a crust made with puff pastry and a filling with what we would call crème pâtissière, enriched with crushed pistachios and almonds.
In her book Tarte Tatin, Ginette Mathiot includes a recipe for Strawberry Frangipane. Same approach, but with crushed almonds only.

The current Larousse Gastronomique takes a different approach by beating sugar and butter until creamy (beurre pommade in French), then adding the eggs, one at a time, and the almond flour. No cooking required. Our approach is fairly similar, we combine soft butter, sugar and almond flour and then add the beaten egg.

Obviously, the recipe provided by Varenne is for a rich sauce whereas the second method is about making a paste, which is very suitable for a Pear Pie.

What You Need

• For the Crust
  • 50 grams of White Caster Sugar
  • 100 grams of soft Unsalted Butter
  • ½ Egg (beaten)
  • 1 gram of Salt
  • 150 grams of All Purpose Flour
  • Cold Water (optinal)
• For the Frangipane
  • 50 grams of Almond Flour
  • 40 grams of Sugar
  • 40 grams of Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
  • One Egg
  • Lemon Zest (optional)
• For the Filling
  • 4 Ripe Pears (Williams, Bartlett, Conference)
• For the Coating
  • Apricot Jam
  • Water

What You Do

1. Start by making the dough
2. Combine sugar and butter. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks
3. When mixed, add halve of the beaten egg
4. Combine salt and flour
5. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture
6. (optional) add some baking powder if you want a crispier crust)
7. Use the kneading hooks to mix
8. If the dough is too dry, add some cold water
9. It’s ready when the pastry comes together in a ball that doesn’t stick to the surface
10. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours. The dough freezes well, so it’s a great idea to make a bit extra
11. Now make the frangipane
12. Combine almond flour, sugar and butter. Beat until fluffy
13. Add the beaten egg
14. Mix
15. (optional) Add lemon zest
16. Transfer to the refrigerator
17. Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 355 °F
18. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a 16 cm (6 in) tin. Best is 2 millimetres
19. Transfer to the refrigerator and leave for 30 minutes
20. Prick the pastry with a fork, to prevent air bubbles forming during baking
21. Add the frangipane to the pastry case and spread evenly
22. Peel and slice the pears, add on top of the frangipane
23. Transfer to the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until golden
24. Use a fork to combine apricot jam and water, ratio 4:1
25. Warm the apricot mixture
26. When the pie is still warm, coat with the apricot mixture

PS

• We made the crust with pâte sucrée, or sweet shortcrust pastry. The result is a flaky, crumbly crust. You could also use (ready-made) puff pastry or pate sablée. Adding a few grams of baking powder is an option when you want a lighter, crispier crust.
• When we first saw a recipe for frangipane with pistachios, we wondered if that would be a good idea. Now that we have read the 1652 recipe, we will definitely give it a try.