Recipe- Delicious Pistachio Pear Tart

This delightful Pear Tart is filled with a frangipane cream made with pistachios rather than the usual almonds, which gives it a dazzling green colour and stunning flavour. Made with a classic buttery French Tart Crust, it’s a perfect Autumn dessert that makes the most of ripe pears. Smart and yet rustically casual, this tart is fitting for any occasion!

Ingredients

1 Sweet Tart Crust

Poached Pears:

4 pears (of equal size, 220g/7oz each, ~10cm/4" tall)
1 lemon , to acidulate water and stop pears from going brown
2 litres / 2 quarts water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1/4 tsp vanilla powder

Pistachio Cream Filling (Frangipane):

100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter , softened, cut into 1cm / 0.4" cubes
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 large eggs , 55-60g / 2 oz each, at room temperature
3/4 cup pistachios (unsalted, roasted) , shelled and skinned (blitz until fine powder)

Finishing:

2 1/2 tbsp pistachios (unsalted, roasted) , finely chopped (for sprinkling)
2 tbsp apricot jam , mixed with 1 tsp water and warmed in microwave (for glazing)

Method

- Make and bake Tart Crust, then fully cool before using.

Poached pears

- Peel, remove stem, then halve and core (I use melon baller). Keep peeled pears in a separate bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice (to stop them going brown).

- Place 2L / 2 quarts water, sugar and vanilla in a pot and bring it to a boil. Lower heat so the water is rippling but there are no large bubbles breaking on surface. Beads of tiny bubbles is fine.

- Place pears into pot, poach for 20 – 25 minutes until pears are soft all the way through. Check with a knife on the side, not top of pears. (Note 5).

- Once cooked, drain on paper towels until fully cool.

Pistachio filling:

- Mix butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth.

- Add eggs one at a time, whisking each until fully incorporated before adding the next.

- Mix in pistachio until fully incorporated.

Constructing tart:

- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).

- Spread pistachio mixture in tart crust, and smooth the surface.

- Place 7 pear halves on top in a radial pattern with the narrow ends pointing inwards. Cut the 8th half so it will fit in the centre, and place in middle of tart. Slightly push pears in so that they're partially submerged.

- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven.

- While still warm, brush with apricot jam glaze to make it shiny, then sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

- Fully cool, then slice to serve. It's beautiful just served as-is. Optional extras: a dollop of creme fraiche (pictured in post), whipped cream or ice cream.