Happy Pi Day! Celebrating with a Pear Tart

Cheers to Pi Day! I made a pear tart (tarte aux poires) baked in an almond custard to celebrate.

This tart is a classic and is spotted in almost every pâtisserie in France. Its elegant simplicity makes me feel a nostalgia for a home that I never actually lived in, la belle France. If you want to experience some “next level” pâtisseries on your next trip to Paris, here is a recent list from Town and Country.

Tarte aux Poires - pear tart baked in an almond custard

1/4 cup almonds, ground in a spice grinder or coffee grinder (2 tablespoons for the filling and 3 tablespoons sprinkled on top of pre-baked crust)

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon Kirsch or pear brandy

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon flour

3 small ripe pears

1 recipe pâte sucrée - basic sweet pastry dough- pre-baked (see below)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons ground almonds, sugar, egg, Kirsch, vanilla extract, almond extract, cream, and flour.  Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons ground almonds on the pre-baked tart shell. Peel and core pears and cut in half length wise.  Slice as thin as possible horizontally.  Gently pick up each thinly sliced pear half by sliding your knife under each and place them in the tart shell in a flower design.  Gently push the sliced pears forward a bit to fan them out.  Pour the custard over the top and fill the tart being careful not to overflow the custard.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown. 

Sweet Pastry Dough (pâte sucrée)

This recipe makes dough for 2 tarts. Freeze the second one if not using right away.

300 grams flour (2 cups) I like to weigh my flour for more accuracy

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar

14 tablespoons unsalted butter - chopped

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons ice water

In a food processor add the flour, sugar and salt and pulse until combined. Add the chopped butter

and pulse until the butter is in small pea sized balls. Add the water and pulse until the dough just comes together.

Put the dough out to a floured surface and make into a large mound and cut in half with a pastry scraper. I like to weigh the halves so that they are equal. Put each half onto a square of wax paper and form into a disk. Wrap with the paper and chill for at least one hour.

If you are freezing at this time, then wrap again in foil and freeze. Let dough defrost in the refrigerator before use.

Roll out dough on a floured surface into a 13" circle. Place dough into a 10" tart pan and fold the overhang inward and press gently into the sides. Do not force or stretch the dough because a thin spot may cause the filling to leak. The dough edges should be a little bit higher than the side of the tart pan to help prevent shrinkage. Prick the bottom of the shell with your fork. Press a piece of foil (12"x13") into the edges of the shell and cover with the foil completely touching and covering the entire shell. Chill for at least a half an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Completely fill the foil covered shell with pie weights or dried beans. Put the shell into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and remove beans and foil. Brush the inside of the shell with a beaten egg white to prevent leakage from small cracks. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes and bake until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack. The shell is ready to fill.