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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Tarts

    Published: Oct 18, 2020 by Sylvie ยท This post may contain affiliate links.

    Pear Frangipane Tartlets

    Jump to Recipe

    These Pear Frangipane Tartlets - or Tartes Bourdaloue in French - combine a sweet shortcrust pastry shell, light almond cream filling and melt-in-your-mouth poached pears. These delicate pear tarts are sure to impress!

    Close up on one tartlet on a grey surface.
    Jump to:
    • Why we love this recipe
    • Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
    • Almond Cream Filling / Frangipane
    • Poached Pears
    • Assembling the Pear Frangipane Tarts
    • Tips to make this recipe
    • Recipe FAQs
    • More French Tarts Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Why we love this recipe

    These Mini Pear Frangipane Tarts are a classic French Pastry dessert that are the perfect combination of crispy, sweet, light and fragrant.

    This recipe ticks all the boxes: a crispy, buttery pastry, a light in texture yet rich in flavour almond cream filling and delicious soft pears. It is basically a mini version of my Pear Frangipane Tart & Apple Frangipane Tart - and a winter version of my Apricot Frangipane Tart and Peach Frangipane Tart!

    Pears are always a great fruit to bake with when in season. This fruit works so well with the flavour of Almonds, just like in my Almond Pear Cake. When poached in a liquid, they become so soft and literally melt in your mouth!

    I love making tarts with winter fruits, whether it is these super easy Puff Pastry Apple Tartlets or Pear Tartlets, fancy Orange Tart or these more complex Frangipane Tarts with Poached Pears. But don't be scared off by the long recipe - it is actually more easy than it seems!

    This Pear Frangipane Tartlets Recipe combines 3 different elements:

    • Sweet Shortcrust Pastry: a classic French Tart Pastry that is perfect for creamy and fruity fillings
    • Almond Cream Filling (Frangipane): an easy 4 ingredients Almond-Flavoured Cream.
    • Poached Pears: pears quickly poached in a liquid to get super soft, melt-in-your-mouth fruits.

    Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

    Ingredients

    Pate Sucree Ingredients

    You will need 6 ingredients to make this sweet pastry:

    • Butter: unsalted, soft and at room temperature
    • Eggs: need to be at room temperature too
    • Sugar: Powdered or Confectioner's Sugar, but I have made it with Icing Sugar and it works fine too.
    • Almond Meal: a simple ingredient that will bring lots of flavour to the pastry, and also reduce the amount of gluten contained in it (a great way to reduce shrinking in the oven!)
    • Plain / All Purpose Flour + Salt: the basics of any pastries.

    How to make Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

    • Photo 1 & 2: Place the very soft butter and icing sugar in the bowl of your mixer and cream until pale, about 2 or 3 minutes on medium speed
    • Photo 3 & 4: Add the Egg, Salt and Almond Meal and mix until combined.
    • Photo 5 & 6: Slowly mix in the Flour and stop as soon as the dough comes together - you don't want to over-mix it.
    • Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper and place in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour (or up to 24 hours in advance). Line the small pastry rings (or tartlet pans) with the chilled pastry, prick the bottom with a small fork then place back in the fridge to rest again for another hour.
    • Preheat your oven on 160'F/325'F and place the pastries in the freezer while the oven is preheating. Blind-bake for about 15 minutes (the bottom should feel dry to the touch) then remove from the oven and set aside to cool down.

    For this recipe, I used 10 cm / 4 inch perforated Pastry Rings - but you can use any type of tartlet pans, or even a Muffin Pan like for these Tartlet Shells.

    Read more about this pastry, including all step-by-step photos, tips and troubleshooting in my Pâte Sucrée Recipe

    Process Shot: making the pastry in the mixer.

    Almond Cream Filling / Frangipane

    The second step to make these Pear Frangipane Tartlets is the Frangipane Cream. Again, this can be made in advance and assembled just before baking the tartlets.

    Ingredients

    You will only need 4 basic ingredients to make a frangipane filling:

    • Butter: Unsalted, and very soft
    • Caster Sugar: or fine white sugar
    • Eggs: make sure they are at room temperature
    • Almond Meal: preferably sifted to remove any lumps.
    • Optional: flavouring like Vanilla (I used Vanilla Paste) or Almond Essence.

    You can also flavour the cream with citrus zest like Lemon or Orange if you want.

    Almond Cream Filling Ingredient Shot.

    How to make Frangipane Cream Filling

    • Photo 1 & 2: Place the very soft Butter and Caster Sugar in the bowl of your mixer and cream together for 2 to 3 minutes on medium speed. It should look pale and have almost doubled in size.
    • Photo 3 & 4: Add the Egg (at room temperature) and very slowly mix until combined. Don't worry if it curdles (splits), it will come back together when you add the almonds.
    • Optional: add the flavouring like Vanilla or Almond Extract.

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    • Photo 5 & 6: Mix in the Almond Meal until combined.

    Either cover and keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours, or use straight away to fill the pastry cases.

    Read more about this Almond Cream, including all step-by-step photos, tips and troubleshooting in my Almond Cream Filling Recipe

    Process Shots Collage: making the almond cream in a metal bowl.

    Poached Pears

    Ingredients

    These poached pears are made with 4 simple ingredients:

    • Water: could be replaced by any liquid you want, like Wine for example! These tartlets would be absolutely delicious with Red Wine Poached Pears or Stewed Pears (*)
    • Sugar: I used Caster Sugar, or Fine White Sugar
    • Lemon Juice: needed to bring a little bit of acidity to the pears and avoid oxidation of the fruits.
    • Pears: choose a fruit that is not too ripe and more on the firm side, so that the pears don't become soggy or too soft when poached.

    You can also add any of your favourite spices like Cinnamon, Ginger or Cardamom, but also could poach the pears with some Lemon or Orange Zest for example.

    (*) Note that you might need more or less water depending on the size of your pan - the pears need to be fully submerged in the liquid.

    If you love pear desserts, make sure to check out my favourite 25 Easy Pear Desserts!

    Poached Pears Ingredients.

    How to Poach Pears

    • Photo 1: Place the Water, Sugar and Lemon Juice in a medium size pot and heat up until the sugar has dissolved.
    • Photo 2: In the meantime, peal your pears (but keep the stems and cores for now).
    • Photo 3: Place the Pears in the simmering poaching liquid and leave to cook (on low to medium heat) for 10 to 15 minutes. They should be softer but still hold their shape quite well (*).
    • Photo 4: Take the poached pears out of the pot and let them cool down a bite, then cut each pear in half, remove the core and thinly slice each halves.

    (*) The time it takes for the pears to poach will depend on the variety of the fruits and how ripe they are. Make sure they are slightly soft but still hold their shapes.

    Process Collage: poaching the pears.

    Assembling the Pear Frangipane Tarts

    Now that all of your elements are ready, it is time to assemble them!

    • Photo 1: Get your partially blind-baked tartlet pastries ready on a flat tray lined with baking paper. If you have used pastry rings like me, you can remove the rings now - the crust should already hold their shapes.
    • Photo 2 & 3: Place the Almond Cream in a piping bag with round nozzle (or just cut the bottom of the bag directly) and pipe the cream inside each pastry shell. Only fill each pastry case about halfway up as the cream will puff a fair bit in the oven.
    • Photo 4: Arrange the sliced poached pears over the cream. I only used 8 pears for 9 tartlets, but you should have enough leftover slices for the last tart.
    • Bake the Pear Frangipane Tartlets at 160'C/325'F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastries are golden, the cream has puffed and the pears are very soft. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down on a cooling rack.

    When fully cool, you can dust the Pear Frangipane Tartlets a little bit of Icing Sugar around the pears to finish the tartlets.

    Process collage: assembling the tartlets for baking.

    Tips to make this recipe

    • Organisation is key to make these Pear Frangipane Tartlets as you want all the elements to be ready before assembling them. All the elements can actually be made in advance (up to 24 hours ahead) then put together to finish the dessert.
    • Make sure to follow the recommended resting time, especially for the pastry. This is to insure the pastry shells do not move, pull or shrink in the oven.
    • For perfectly baked tart crusts, use tart rings (or tart pans) that are perforated. This helps with the circulation of the hot air in the oven and insure the crust are evenly baked.
    • To line the tartlet rings, I used the 2 pieces technique: I cut thin long strips of pastry (about the height of the rings) to create the edges, then cut out circles of pastry slightly smaller than the tart rings for the bottom. Gently press the pastry at the corners to get the two pieces to stick together. Check out this tutorial for the more traditional technique.
    • Ingredient temperatures are very important, especially for the almond cream. You want all of your ingredients to be at the same temperature (room temperature preferably) so that they combine properly without splitting or curdling.
    • Don't overfill the pastry cases with the almond cream as the filling will puff a lot in the oven, and the weight of the fruits will also bring the cream up. Only fill about half of the height of the pastry shells with the cream.
    Pear Tartlets aligned in a grid photographed from above.

    Recipe FAQs

    Can I use a store bought pastry?

    Absolutely - but I recommend using a shortcrust type of pastry over puff pastry. You need a tart crust that will not soak too much liquid/moisture and remain crunchy.

    What type of Pears to use?

    The variety of pear you pick will affect the taste and texture of the pastries. Go for a pear that will become soft when bake but still hold its shape. Flavour-wise, it is up to you to use a sweeter or more tart pear.

    You can use:
    - Bosc Pear
    - Anjou Pears
    - Concorde Pears

    Do I need to poach the pears?

    For the best texture and flavour, yes. The recipe will work with fresh, un-poached pears but you will get a much crunchier texture instead of soft, melt-in-your-mouth fruits.

    Alternatively, you could also use canned poached-pears - simply make sure to drain them well as you do not want to add too much liquid to the pastries.

    Can I make this recipe in advance?

    Yes - the tartlets will last for up to 3 days in the fridge once baked, but all the elements can also be prepared in advance!

    - the pastry can be kept unbaked in the fridge for up to 24 hours or partially blind-baked at room temperature for a day.
    - the cream can be kept in a covered bowl or air-tight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
    - the poached pears can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours, but they will oxidise (turn brown).

    Storing the tarts

    These Pear Frangipane Tartlets are best served straight away, or will last up to 3 days in the fridge in an air-tight container, over individually covered with wrap/foil.
    They can be eaten cold or reheated for a few seconds in the microwave.

    Tart placed on a grey marbled surface.

    More French Tarts Recipes

    • Easy French Apple Tart
    • Triple Chocolate Tart
    • Strawberry Tartlets with Custard
    • Rhubarb Custard Tart
    • Lemon Curd Tartlets
    • Chocolate Ganache Tart
    • Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts
    • Orange Tart
    • Strawberry Custard Tart
    • Mini Chocolate Tarts
    • Chocolate Orange Tartlets

    Made this recipe?
    Let us know if you liked it by leaving a comment below, and tag us on Instagram @a.baking.journey with a photo of your creation!

    Recipe

    Close up on one tartlet on a grey surface.

    Pear Frangipane Tartlets

    4.80 from 10 votes
    These Pear Frangipane Tartlets, aka Tartes Bourdaloue in French, are delicious little Fall and Winter French pastries. The Sweet Shortcrust Pastry shells are filled with a light Almond Cream and topped with melt-in-your-mouth Poached Pears. These delicate pear tarts are sure to impress!
    Servings: 9 Tarts
    Author: Sylvie
    Prep Time1 hour hr
    Cook Time45 minutes mins
    Resting Time2 hours hrs
    Total Time3 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
    Print Recipe
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    Ingredients

    Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

    • 100 gr Unsalted Butter, soft
    • 40 gr Powdered Sugar
    • 1 large Egg, at room temperature
    • 40 gr Almond Meal
    • 1 pinch Salt
    • 200 gr Plain / All-Purpose Flour

    Almond Cream Filling (Frangipane)

    • 50 gr Unsalted Butter, soft
    • 50 gr Caster Sugar
    • 1 large Egg
    • 50 gr Almond Meal

    Poached Pears

    • 4 large Pears
    • 1,5 litre Water
    • 50 gr Caster Sugar
    • 30 ml Lemon Juice, about half a lemon

    Instructions

    Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

    • Place the soft Butter and Powdered Sugar in the bowl of your mixer and cream together on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until pale.
    • Add the Egg, Almond Meal and Salt amd mix until combined. Slowly mix in the Flour, stopping as soon as a dough comes together to avoid over-working the pastry.
    • Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper (see note 1), then place on a flat tray in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour.
    • Line your Pastry Rings or Tartlet Pans (see note 2) with the chilled pastry, prick the bottom of each pastry with a small fork and place back in the fridge to rest for at least an hour.
    • Preheat your oven on 160'C/325'F and place the tartlet pastries in the freezer while the oven is preheating. Blind-Bake for about 15 minutes (see note 3) then set aside to cool down.

    Almond Cream Filling (Frangipane)

    • Cream the very soft Butter and Sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes or or until pale and almost doubled in volume. Slowly mix in the Egg, then add the Almond Meal. Mix to combine. Set aside (see note 4).

    Poached Pears

    • Peel the pears (keep the stems).
    • Place the Water (see note 5), Sugar and Lemon Juice in a medium size Pot and heat up on low. When the sugar has dissolved, add the peeled Pears and leave to poach for 10 to 15 minutes or until soft (see note 6).
    • Remove from the liquid and leave to cool down, the cut each pear in half, remove the core and thinly slice each pear halves.

    Assembling the tarts

    • Preheat your oven on 160'C/325'F.
    • Place the Frangipane Cream in a Piping Bag with round tip (or cut of the bottom of the bag)(see note 7) and pipe the cream in each blind-baked pastry cases, about halfway up (see note 8).
    • Arrange the sliced Pear Halves above the Cream (see note 9) then place in the oven to bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden, the cream has puffed and the pears are soft.
    • Optional: when cool, dust with a little bit of Icing Sugar to finish the tarts.

    Would you like to save this recipe?

    We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

    Notes

    Disclaimer: I highly recommend using the metric (weight in grams / liquid in ml) ingredient measurements instead of cups/spoons for the best and more precise result.
    General Info:
    This recipe makes 9 Tartlets, sized 10 cm / 4 inch.
    Find more information, step by step instructions, tips and troubleshooting of these elements in their respective recipes:
    • Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
    • Almond Cream Filling
     
    Notes:
    1. Roll the pastry relatively thinly - about 2 to 3 mm (1/10 inch) thick.
    2. I recommend using perforated tart rings, which gives your the most evenly baked pastry crust. Alternatively, you can use any 10 cm / 4 inch tartlet pans you have.
    3. The bottom of the pastries should feel relatively dry to the touch and the pastry should have a very light golden colour.
    4. If baking the tarts straight away, you can keep the cream at room temperature while you poach the pears. If making it in advance, cover with wrap touching the surface and keep in the fridge.
    5. You might need more or less water, depending on the size of the pot you use. The pears should be fully submerged in the liquid, so add more water if required.
    6. The time it will take for the pears to poach might vary based on the fruit variety and how ripe the pears are. They need to be soft but still hold their shape / not be mushy when you slice them.
    7. If you were keeping the cream in the fridge, I recommend taking it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before piping so that it comes back to room temperature. It will be easier to pipe when softer.
    8. Make sure not to over-fill the pastry cases as the cream will puff a fair bit in the oven. Don't fill more than half the height of the pastry shells with the cream.
    9. There are only 8 pear halves, but you should have enough leftover slices to reassemble for the last tartlet.

    Nutrition (per serving)

    Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 21mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 489IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg

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    Bonjour! I'm Sylvie, a Belgian Aussie living in Melbourne, Australia. I love sharing my passion for French Pastry and empowering all home bakers through easy to follow recipes.
    Join me on my Baking Journey!

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