Tag: pear

Tartelette with Pear

3 July 2025

Always a pleasure to serve a tartelette, with lemon, with blackberries, with raspberries or in this case with pear. The challenge is to capture the delicate flavour of the pears.
Making the filling is simple and quick. Making the pastry requires much more time. Feel free to use ready-made pastry!

What You Need
  • Filling
    • Pears
    • Butter
    • Lemon Juice
  • Pâte Sucrée
    • 50 grams of Unsalted Butter
    • 40 grams of Caster Sugar
    • 125 grams of All Purpose Flour
    • 1 gram of Salt
    • 1 organic egg
    • Water (optional)
What You Do (Filling)
  1. Peel and core the pears
  2. Chop coarsely
  3. Melt the butter
  4. Add some water
  5. Slowly cook the pears until soft
  6. Taste and perhaps add a drop of lemon juice
  7. Pass gently through a sieve, without applying pressure. You want as much liquid as possible without damaging the texture of the pears
  8. Set the pears aside and allow to cool.
  9. Reduce the liquid until it becomes thick
What You Do (Pastry Case)
  1. Combine sugar, flour and salt
  2. Dice butter, add to the mixture and combine. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks
  3. Beat the egg and add
  4. Use your hands to make the dough. It should not be sticky, so it must be easy to make a ball. If too dry, add just a bit of water. If too wet, add some flour
  5. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in kitchen foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours. It can be stored for a few days.
  6. Flour your work surface and roll out the pastry to a circle a larger than the top of the tartelette forms. The dough should be approximately 2 or 3 mm thick
  7. Coat the forms with butter
  8. Line the forms with the pastry. Press the pastry well into the sides and bottom. Use a knife to remove the excess dough
  9. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator
  10. Preheat the oven to 190 °C or 375 °F
  11. Use a fork to prick small holes in the pastry
  12. Line the forms with greaseproof paper or aluminium foil, add baking beans and bake blind for 10 minutes
  13. Remove the paper and the baking beans
  14. Reduce the oven temperature to 160 °C or 320 °F
  15. Transfer back to the oven for 5 minutes or until golden
  16. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool
Assembling the Tartelette
  1. When the pastry cases are completely cool, add the pears
  2. Use a spoon to drizzle the pear-syrop on top of the pears
  3. Serve immediately
Simple Pear Tartelette ©cadwu
Simple Pear Tartelette ©cadwu

Pear Pie with Frangipane

29 May 2025

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.
Pear Pie ©cadwu
Pear Pie ©cadwu

Pear and Chocolate Pie

12 October 2023

A few weeks ago, we were very pleased to win the Great Bloggers Bake Off award in the pie-category with a Pear and Almond Pie. A delicious, uplifting combination that works very well thanks to the crème fraîche and the calvados. The Bake Off is organised by A Jeanne in the Kitchen.

Pear and chocolate is a match made in heaven, that’s why we decided to make a Pear and Chocolate Pie. The result is a rich, intense flavoured pie. A small slice with an espresso will make for a very nice dessert.

What You Need

  • Dough
    • 50 grams White Caster Sugar
    • 100 grams soft Butter
    • ½ teaspoon grated Lemon Peel
    • Pinch of Salt
    • ½ Egg
    • 3 grams Baking Powder
    • 150 grams All Purpose Flour
  • Almond Paste
    • 225 grams of White Caster Sugar
    • 250 grams of Almond Flour
    • One Egg
    • Lemon zest
  • Filling
    • 200 grams Chocolate
    • 50 grams Double Cream
    • 50 grams Sugar
    • 1 Egg
    • 1 Egg Yolk
    • Pears, preferably Doyenné du Comice (or Conference)
  • Decoration
    • Whipped Cream
    • Cinnamon Powder

    What You Do

    Start by making the Dough. Beat the egg. Combine sugar and butter until smooth. Add Lemon zest and salt. Mix. Add the egg. Mix. Combine baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Best is to use a kitchen mixer with kneading hooks. Wrap in foil and transfer to the refrigerator for at least two hours. The dough freezes well so not a problem if you’ve made too much.

    Now make the Almond Paste. Combine almond flour and sugar. Add one beaten egg and (optional) lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months. You could also use 250 grams of white almonds. Grind these and continue as if almond flour. In this case you need half the quantity (or less).

    Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 355 °F. Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Roll out the dough, it should be 5 mm (0.20 inch). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Line with aluminium foil or parchment paper, add baking beans and bake the pie blind for 15 minutes.

    When the pie is in the oven, it’s time to make the Filling. We used cooking chocolate, that makes life a lot easier. Add the broken chocolate to the cream and melt gently in the microwave (set to low power) or au bain-marie. Add sugar. Allow to cool. Lukewarm is fine. Beat the egg.

    Use almond paste to make a thin layer on the bottom of the pie. Take half of the chocolate mixture and (using a spatula) add a layer of chocolate on top of the almond paste. Add the egg to the remaining chocolate, mix well and make a third layer. Peel the pears, quarter and push the pears into the mixture. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes (depending on the pears and the mixture).
    Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

    Pear and Chocolate Pie ©cadwu
    Pear and Chocolate Pie ©cadwu

    Pear and Almond Pie

    24 August 2023

    Only a few weeks to go before we can enjoy fresh, new pears and apples. Time to start thinking about a traditional Dutch apple pie, about stuffed apples with raisins and cinnamon, about a chocolate-pear pie and of course about this classic pear and almond pie. Rich in taste with a crunchy crust and a soft, light, creamy filling. A very taste dessert but also great with a cup of tea in the afternoon.

    We begin by making the dough. It freezes well, so it’s a great idea to make a bit extra.

    What You Need
    • 50 grams of White Caster Sugar
    • 100 grams of soft Unsalted Butter
    • Egg (beaten)
    • ½ teaspoon of Lemon Zest
    • 1 gram of Salt
    • 3 grams of Baking Powder
    • 150 grams of All Purpose Flour
    What You Do

    Adding an egg to the dough makes its flavour richer and the dough will be easier to handle when lining the baking tin. The lemon in the crust will work very well in combination with the pear and the sweetness of the filling. Start by combining the sugar and the butter. Use a hand mixer with kneading hooks. When mixed, add halve of the beaten egg, then add the lemon zest. Combine salt, baking powder and flour. Pass through a sieve and add to the mixture. Use the kneading hooks to mix. When done, remove from the bowl and wrap in foil. Store in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

    The filling is a combination of almond paste, crème fraîche and pear. We used Conference, but you could also use the very aromatic Doyenne du Comice. 

    What You Need
    • 50 grams of Almond Paste
    • ½ egg
    • 100 grams of Crème Fraîche
    • 10 grams of Calvados
    • 2 or 3 pears
    What You Do

    Preheat your oven to 200 °C or 390 °F. Roll out the dough, it should be 4-5 mm (0,15-0,20 inch). Coat your pie tin with butter (we used a 15 cm, 6 inch tin). Line the tin with the dough. Don’t worry if the dough breaks; it’s easy to repair. Remove the excess dough. Peel the pears and slice in nice chunks. Combine the almond paste, the egg, the crème fraîche and the calvados until the mixture is smooth. Add the mixture to the tin, Add the pear. Transfer to the oven for in total 40 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 160 °C or 320 °F. Allow to cool and then remove from the tin.

    PS

    In case you want to make your own almond paste, then combine 250 grams of almond flour with 225 grams of sugar. Add one beaten egg and (optional) lemon zest. Mix until you have a paste. Keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for months.
    You could also use 250 grams of white almonds. Grind these and continue as if almond flour.

    Pear and Almond Pie ©cadwu
    StarBaker Award 2023