Almond Pear Tart

Via Dorie Greenspan: Baking from my Home to Yours

1 partially-bake 23 cm (9 inch) tart shell, made with sweet dough

For the pears:

6 canned pear halves

or

3 medium pears, firm but ripe

1 lemon

1 l (4 cups) water

250 g (1/ 1/4 cups) sugar

For the Almond Cream:

100 g (6 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature

150 g (3/4 cup) sugar

75 g (3/4 cup) ground blanched almond

10 g (2 teaspoons) all-purpose flour

5 ml (1 teaspoon) cornstarch

1 egg

15 ml (1 tablespoon) dark rum or 5 ml (1 teaspoon) vanilla

For the poched pears:

If you are using canned pears, you have nothing to do.

In a large sauce pan, bring the water, the sugar and the lemon to boil.

Pell and cut the pears in half.

Add the pears to the boilling syrup.

Lower the heat and simmer gently the pears until they are tender when pierce with a knife, about 15 minutes.

Cool the pears to room temperature in the syrup.

For the Almond Cream:

Cream the butter and the sugar until the mixture is smooth and satiny.

Add the ground almond, the flour, the cornstarch and continu to mix.

Add the egg, the rum or vanilla and mix well.

Preheat the oven at 350°F (180°C).

Fill the baked crust with the almon cream.

Thinly slice each pear half crosswise and place it toward the edge of the crust, over the almond cream.

Bake the tart 45 minutes or until the almond cream puffd up around the pears and browns.

Transfert the tart to a rack to cool to room temperature before unmolding.

Bon Appétit!