Pear Tart with Crunchy Almond Topping

Something a bit different, something to use up ingredients, something a little impressive, something not too laborious: that would be the pillars of my baking philosophy. This tart was all of those things, and good enough that I made it twice this month.

Dorie Greenspan is the author of the recipe and I found it in her book, Baking Chez Moi. The sweet tart dough (pâte sucrée) is one of the easiest I’ve ever made. I used the pat-in method, smoothing and flattening the crumbs with the tamper from our espresso machine. It browns quite easily in the oven, and I needed a foil shield around the edges, after I removed the foil during the first step.

For the filling, don’t use pears that are overly ripe if you want a crisp crust. Otherwise, their juiciness will end up softening your pastry after a few days. There’s not a lot to do here except bathing the diced fruit in hot butter, and hitting it with some sugar and brandy. The topping is what makes this tart special though: a mix of egg white and icing sugar to coat the sliced almonds. Piled atop the fruit, it browns and becomes glossy, and provides a really nice crunch.

I was thrilled with how delicious this tart was, and how easy it was to make. The pears are the main focus, but the crunchy almonds steal the show. Highly recommended.