Tarte Bourdaloue (pear tart)

pears:
450 g (6 medium-sized) very ripe peeled pears or*

pâte sucrée:
300 g all-purpose flour
70 g powdered sugar (or caster sugar)
pinch of sea salt
pinch of grated tonka bean
200 g butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks 

frangipane:
110 g butter, room temp
110 g light brown sugar
pinch of vanilla powder or seeds
4 pods cardamom, seeds crushed
2 medium eggs, room temperature
115 g roasted hazelnut or lightly roasted walnut flour
pinch of salt

If you are poaching the pears, do that now and only then prepare the rest. If you are using ripe pears, start with the dough. 

Prepare the dough. Add flour, sugar,  salt, and tonka bean to a bowl. Add the butter and eggs, and knead just until incorporated and smooth (don’t overmix, or it will be hard and not flaky). Wrap with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Prepare the frangipane. Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and cardamom in a bowl with a hand mixer until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Add the nut flour and salt and stir.

Heat oven to 200° C. Prepare a 23-24 cm tart pan. Roll out the pastry 2-3 mm thick.  Place in the pan and press the edges against the pan. Prick with a fork, line with parchment paper, and fill with baking beans. Blind bake for 20 minutes. Take out and remove the beans and the paper.

While the base is baking, cut the pears in half, remove the cores, and slice them thinly. 

Lower the heat to 190° C. Spread with frangipane, arrange the pears, and place in the oven on the lowest rack for 25 minutes. Then transfer to the centre and bake for another 15 minutes until the frangipane and apples are golden. Remove, cool, and serve. 



* You can poach pears before using them. That is also what the original recipe asks. 

450 g peeled pears (not too soft)
125 g golden caster sugar 
500 ml water
vanilla pod

Place all syrup ingredients in a pot and heat it on medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble. Slowly put the pears in syrup; at this point, they must be covered with syrup. If that is not the case, add more water. Cut out a round of baking paper the size of the pot, cut out a 5 mm hole in the middle, and place it directly on the pears. Simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes until ready (to test, slide a knife in one of the pears, and if it slides in easily, it is ready). Lift out the pears and cool.