Poached Pear & Frangipane Tart For The Win!

I would consider a tart a pie so for this weekly pie post I went with a poached pear & frangipane tart. I also wanted to poach the pears in cardamom and saffron because those are some of my favorite flavors right not. I think they will work well with the pears. This was also my first time making frangipane so I was up for the challenge. It was a lot easier than I expected.  I love how the pears turned a beautiful yellow color and they smell wonderful. This is a perfect autumn tart. You could also bake this tart in a 9 inch tart pan, I used 6 mini tart pans. I think they turned out great.

Poached Pear & Frangipane Tart

Here's what you will need

Pastry Crust

1 1/2 Cups of Flour
1/2 Cup of Powdered Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 egg
1 Stick of Butter ( cold and in tiny pieces)

Cardamom & Saffron Poached Pears

• 3 - 4 Pears
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 Cups of Water
• Few pinches of Saffron
• 8 Cardamom pods (crushed)

Frangipane Filling

• 3/4 Cup of Ground almond (or Almond meal)
• 6 Tablespoons of Room Temperature Butter
• 2/3 Cup of Granulated Sugar
• 1 Large Egg + 1 Egg White
• 2 Teaspoons of Flour
• 1 Teaspoon of Cornstarch
• 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 2 Teaspoons of Almond Extract

For the pears: Combine the water, sugar, cardamom and saffron strands in a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Crush these cardamom pods

add the saffron and bring to a small boil

Meanwhile, cut the pears in half, remove the seed core and fibrous cores at either end, then peel the pears.

peel these and then cut in half

Add the pear halves to the simmering syrup and reduce heat to low.

Let pears poach for about 30 minutes. The pears will become slightly translucent, very tender, and easily pierced with a knife or skewer.

I like how these turned yellow

Let the pears cool in the liquid until room temperature before using. Or, you can store them in their liquid in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.


For the tart shell: Put the flour, confectioner’s sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the pieces of cold butter and pulse until the butter is cut into pea-sized pieces.

Add the egg and vanilla and combine in several pulses until the dough starts to turn from dry to clumpy. Do not let the dough form one giant ball or it will be be overworked – just keep checking after every pulse and when the dough pieces looks like they will stick when you press them together, stop.

Butter a 9-in tart tin with removable bottom or 6 mini tart pans. Turn the dough out into the tin and press into the bottom and up the sides with your fingers. You probably will not need all the dough – save the extra for patching the shell after you bake it. Do not press the dough too hard or it will become tough – just enough for it to form to the tin.

Freeze the tart shell for at least 30 minutes. When you are ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.


To partially bake the tart shell, take a piece of foil and butter the shiny side, then press the buttered side tightly to the shell.

You do not need pie weights. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, until the shell is dry and lightly colored. If any places have cracked, repair with the extra dough. Let cool on a rack until room temperature.



For the frangipane: Combine the butter and sugar in the food processor and combine until smooth.

I used Irish butter that's why it's so yellow

Add the ground almonds and blend together.

Add the flour and cornstarch, and then the egg and egg white. Process the mixture until it is very smooth.

 Add in the vanilla and almond extracts just to blend.

The frangipane can be used immediately or you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. If it becomes too firm in the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for a while to soften before using.

To finish the tart: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the frangipane evenly into the cooled tart shell (It should be liquid enough to smooth out on its own so you don’t need to work to much on it).

Take the poached pears out of their liquid and drain them on paper towels. You don’t want too much excess liquid or they will make the frangipane soggy. Cut each pear half crosswise into 3/8 in thick slices. Do not separate the pear half yet.

pretty poached pears

Slide a spatula or other flat utensil underneath the pear so you can transfer the entire half onto the tart. Press on the pear to fan the slices toward the top narrow end of the pear.

I just wanted to show that this pear was sliced

Slide the pear half onto the frangipane carefully – you can move the pear after you place it, but not much.

Repeat with the other pear halves until there are four halves on the tart, evenly spaced.

Place it on the frangipane so gently

Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the frangipane is puffed, golden brown, and firm to the touch. Cool the tart on a wire rack.

all baked and cooling on the rack

Before serving, you can brush the pears with some warmed apricot jelly to glaze, or dust confectioner’s sugar over the tart.

so shiny after brushing the pears with apricot jam

Shiny So Shiny

then dusted with some powdered sugar

I love the way these look

I think they are so pretty

These really tasted amazing, I did also whip up some fresh cream to give people options to top there tart with. Poached pears are my new favorite thing and I will definitely make these again.

Ready to eat.