10.25.18
Brrrr, I hope all you autumn lovers are happy. Summer has left us and this fall seems to already be teetering on winter temperatures! I’ve seen pictures of snow falling in northern and midwestern states and I’m wearing more layers than I’d like before the start of November. I’m a little grumpy about it. However, it IS still apple season, and I am not grumpy in the slightest about that! I kept my promise and recreated the tart we made up in Vermont, recently. I loved what we made up there, but thought I’d add in some pear for a subtle flavor addition, as well as some more cardamom than the first go round. The result was an attractive fall treat full of seasonal fruit and autumn spices. If you have the talent, I’d recommend replacing the middle of this tart with apple rosettes, but OMG I CANNOT MAKE THEM AND THEY WILL BE MY ULTIMATE DEMISE. They are not even that difficult, but I am blown away at how bad I am at making them. It’s embarrassing. In Vermont, I blamed my inability to create the fruit flowers on the copious amounts of bourbon I drank while baking, but this time I was sober as a bird (is that a saying?) and was still a disaster. I guess I know what I’ll be practicing this fall, woof.
I think frangipane is such an underused and under-appreciated flavor and filling in the States. Its origins are rooted in Italy and France, and while it is a very simple filling, it is so delicious, and anytime someone new tries it, they’re instantly a fan. My first dessert with this was my Fig Tart, which is now my husbands favorite. A more classic and wildly popular internet dessert with frangipane involves quartered pears placed into the filling so the frangipane bakes up around it. It’s beautiful and tasty. This is a dessert with a fancy name and a not so fancy execution. But we’ll keep that little secret between us.
Apple and Pear Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 egg yolk
- 1-3 Tbsp ice cold water
For the Filling
- 1 cup almond flour
- 4 Tbsp European butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 2 apples
- 1 pear
- juice from 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
For the Crust
- In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and salt
- Add in half the butter and pulse into coarse crumbs, repeat with other half
- Add in egg yolk and pulse to combine
- Slowly begin to stream in water with processor on low speed until dough begins to come together
- Once it just starts to combine, turn off processor, dump dough onto plastic wrap or lightly floured surface, and pat dough together into a disc
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap chill for at least two hours but up to overnight
- Once chilled, roll out on lightly floured surface into circle slightly larger than your tart pan
- Roll crust onto rolling pin and carefully drape over tart pan
- Tuck crust into pan, making sure to get into edges and sides
- Push overlapping crust outward over tart pan and gently roll rolling pin over edge, cutting off excess crust
- Poke holes all throughout crust and sides with a fork and chill again 30min-1hour
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350
- Place tart crust on baking sheet and par-bake 20-22 minutes, crust should just be starting to turn golden brown
For the Filling
- While crust bakes and cools, prepare filling
- In a bowl of a stand up mixer with paddle attachment cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add in almond flour and salt, once it begins to clump up scrap down sides of bowl add in eggs one at a time
- Add in flour and cardamom, allow to just combine, scrape down sides of bowl as necessary
- Slice apples in quarters and make sure to remove seeds, cut off smaller top of pear and use the larger bottom, and cut into quarters
- As you slice, place into a bowl and pour lemon juice over slices to prevent browning as you work
- Once sliced, pour melted butter and brown sugar over apples and pears and toss to coat evenly
- Microwave 20-30 seconds to make slices pliable
To Assemble
- Once crust is parbaked, and slightly cooled, add filling
- Pour frangipane into crust and smooth out with offset spatula
- Starting from the outsides, place apple and pear slices (in the order of your choosing, I alternated apple-apple-pear-apple-apple-pear) overlapping about halfway in a spiral working your way into the center
- Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, the frangipane should puff up and be just starting to brown once done
- Allow to cool before sprinkling cinnamon over top and serving (I recommend a la mode!)
