Description
Tarte Bourdaloue is a classic French pear and almond tart featuring a crisp, buttery sweet pastry crust, rich almond cream filling, and tender poached or canned pears. Finished with a glossy apricot glaze and slivered almonds, this elegant dessert is perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
-
- Sweet Pastry (Pâte Sucrée):
- 125 g unsalted butter, softened
- 75 g icing sugar
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 225 g all-purpose flour
- 25 g ground almonds (almond flour)
-
- Almond Cream (Frangipane):
- 100 g unsalted butter, softened
- 75 g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 drops almond extract
- 100 g ground almonds (almond flour)
- 2 tbsp dark rum (optional)
-
- Pears:
- 6 pear halves (canned, drained and dried)
- OR 3 medium fresh pears, peeled and halved
- 500 ml water
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 1 strip lemon peel
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean
- Topping & Glaze:
- 20 g slivered almonds
- 100 g apricot jam
- Optional: macaron shells or icing sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the Sweet Pastry: Beat butter, icing sugar, and salt until smooth. Add egg, then mix in flour and ground almonds until dough forms. Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
- Roll and Line Tart Tin: Roll out chilled dough to 3–4 mm thickness. Line a 27–28 cm (11-inch) tart tin, trim edges, prick base, and chill for 30 more minutes.
- Make Almond Cream: Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then almond extract, ground almonds, and rum. Mix until smooth.
- Prepare Pears: For canned, drain and dry. For fresh: poach halved pears in water, sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, and vanilla for 15–20 mins. Cool in syrup.
- Assemble: Spread almond cream in chilled pastry shell. Arrange pear halves, optionally sliced, on top. Sprinkle with slivered almonds.
- Bake: Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden and set.
- Glaze: Warm apricot jam and brush over tart once cooled slightly. Optionally garnish with macarons or icing sugar before serving.
Notes
- Poaching fresh pears adds more control and flavor depth.
- Substitute rum with Amaretto, Cognac, or almond liqueur.
- For a lighter frangipane, fold in a bit of pastry cream.
- Use store-bought pastry to save time.
- Make mini tarts for individual servings—reduce baking time accordingly.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 410
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 26 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg
