This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for details. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Fancy as it may look, this traditional French-style Pear Almond Tart or Pear Frangipane Tart is easier to make than you think. It’s a perfect fall dessert, especially during Thanksgiving!
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I’d like to share one of our favorite fall dessert recipes using seasonal fruits; and that’s Pear Almond Tart or Pear Frangipane Tart (洋梨のタルト).
With homemade sweet tart crust and seasonal pears on top of the creamy and delicious almond cream filling, this tart is an excellent dessert to enjoy at tea time or after a meal.
3 Easy Steps to Make Pear and Almond Tart
This tart requires 3 steps. The best part about this dessert is that you can prepare a tart crust and almond cream filling much ahead of time (not just a day before). So if you’re making this tart for Thanksgiving, plan out how much time you will need for other savory dishes and make a time window to make a tart crust and almond cream filling.
Step 1: Make Homemade Sweet Tart Crust
Wait, do we have to make a tart crust from scratch? Yesssss! Well, you don’t have to, if you want to save time and use a store-bought tart crust. But if you never made a homemade tart crust before, let me persuade you to make one with me today, at least once!
Imagine this. When you eat a tart from a good pastry shop, you wonder why it’s so delicious. I believe half of the deliciousness comes from those buttery, crumbly, cookie-like crusts (and the other half is the filling). This homemade tart crust tastes so much better than a store-bought tart shell that you’d swoon over by it. Trust me, it is totally worthy of your time to make a homemade tart from scratch.
At this step, we prepare the pastry dough and then partially bake the tart crust before filling it with the almond cream mixture. If you’re ready to read the process, hop over to my Sweet Tart Crust recipe with detailed step by step pictures.
Step 2: Make Almond Cream (Frangipane) Filling
Frangipane (or frangipani in Italian, crème frangipane in French) is an almond-flavored sweet pastry cream used as a filling in tarts, cakes, and assorted pastries. It is made of creamed butter, sugar, eggs, and finely ground almonds.
This step is really easy peasy, and the greatest advantage is you can make it ahead of time (3 days prior to baking)! So whenever you have time, you can prepare it and store in the refrigerator. I find it so convenient when you are multi-tasking, especially during the crazy Thanksgiving week.
Step 3: Assemble and Bake!
The final step comes down to an assembly of the sweet tart crust, almond cream, and fresh pear slices and the baking in the oven. Your kitchen would start smelling so amazing with the delicious Pear Almond Tart being made in the oven!
Best Kinds of Pears for Pear and Almond Tart
The best pears for Pear Almond Tart are Bartlett and Anjou. Barlett pears start arriving at farmers markets and your grocery stores in late summer. They’re soon followed by Bosc and Comice which are in season in the fall through winter. Then Anjou, which is a winter pear. Get Barlettt or Anjou for this tart recipe depending on the season you’re making.
Almond Flour & All Purpose Flour from Bob’s Red Mill
This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill®. I couldn’t be any more thrilled when I get to work with Bob’s Red Mill® to develop this Pear and Almond Tart recipe.
As an employee-owned company, Bob’s Red Mill® uses high-quality whole grains to satisfy all vegan, paleo, and gluten-free friendly cooking and baking needs. From almond flour, cake mixes, coconut flour to various grains, it offers the largest lines of organic, whole grain foods in the country. You can be assured that all of its products are certified Kosher and made with ingredients grown from non-GMO seeds. If you’re curious, you can go to the website and learn more about the founder, Bob Moore and his mission too.
To achieve the perfect texture for the Pear Almond Tart, I used Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour and Super-Fine Almond Flour from Bob’s Red Mill®. Because it is sifted to a very fine texture, their flours are fantastic for all baked goods.
The All-Purpose Flour is unbleached, unbromated, enriched baking flour milled from the highest quality North American wheat. The Super-Fine Almond Flour is made from the finest California-grown almonds, which have been blanched and ground to a fine meal that is ideal for gluten-free baking.
You should be able to find their flours at any major grocery stores. Alternatively, you can also buy it on Amazon.
Behind the Scene Side Note:
On the day when we had to photo shoot this Pear and Almond Tart, I’ve noticed that my favorite anodized aluminum tart pan was missing. I discovered later on that it fell behind the stacked cake pans in the cabinet above my refrigerator, but being 5 feet tall, the pan escaped my sight completely.
So I had to bake this pear and almond tart in my non-stick tart pan, which I don’t have a good relationship with. Despite using the exact same recipe, my tart crust tends to shrink when it’s baked in it (cursed!).
You can see the same sweet tart crust baked in the non-stick tart pan (shown in this Pear and Almond Tart recipe) and in the anodized aluminum tart pan (shown in my Sweet Tart Crust recipe).
Despite the minor kitchen mishap, the tart still tastes heavenly. The sweet filling and the homemade buttery crust are all that made the difference. If you’re looking for a show stopper dessert for your holiday table this year, you want to make this Pear and Almond Tart.
Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
Fancy as it may look, this traditional French-style Pear Almond Tart or Pear Frangipane Tart is easier to make than you think. It's a perfect fall dessert, especially during Thanksgiving!
- 1 sweet tart crust (9-10 inch, 23-25 cm)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick, 8 Tbsp; at room temperature)
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar/powdered sugar (½ cup or 100 g if granulated sugar)
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ¼ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp rum (optional)
- 1 tsp almond extract (use 1 ½ tsp if you skip rum)
- 3 Bartlett or Anjou pears (Use smaller ones possible; You can use canned pear halves instead. Drain the canned pears and dry them well before using them.)
- ½ lemon
- 3 Tbsp apricot jam
- 1 tsp confectioners’ sugar/powdered sugar (for sprinkling)
- 1 Tbsp sliced almonds (for sprinkling)
-
Make a "partially baked" crust by following this step. You can make the tart crust ahead of time.
-
Gather all the ingredients. Make sure to take out the butter and eggs from the refrigerator and keep at room temperature. If the eggs are too cold when you add to the mixture, they reduce the temperature of the butter, making emulsion more difficult. Adding the eggs all at once also inhibits emulsion, and results in that scrambled egg appearance. You can soak the cold eggs for 5 minutes in warm (not hot!) water, but it's best to take out both butter and eggs out from the fridge earlier.
- In a large bowl, cream the softened unsalted butter.
- Add confectioners’ sugar and mix well until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Add almond flour, all-purpose flour, and salt, and mix well.
- Add eggs one at a time and incorporate into the mixture.
- Add vanilla extract, almond extract, and rum.
-
Whisk until homogenized and smooth. The almond cream can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 to 5 days or frozen for weeks.
-
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Melt the apricot jam and 1 Tbsp water in the microwave for 10 seconds until liquefied. Apply the jam on the base of the cooled pastry case to prevent soggy bottom. Reserve the jam for later. Fill the baked tart crust with almond cream, smoothing out to the edges with an offset spatula, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
- Meanwhile, peel the pears, cut each in half lengthwise, and scoop out cores.
-
Cut each half crosswise into ⅛ inch (3 mm) slices. Squeeze the lemon and rub the pears with lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Take out the tart crust from the refrigerator. Gently press each pear half to fan out toward the stem/top side. Slide the knife under pears and transfer to the almond filling.
-
Arrange the top with points facing in and pears fanning out toward the center. Make sure to space pears out so they are not touching, as the filling will puff up and they need room to expand.
-
Bake the tart at 375ºF (190ºC) until golden brown or the bamboo skewer inserted into the center of filling comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.
- Remove the tart from the oven and let cool in the pan on the wire rack. Brush the pears with the leftover apricot jam. Once it’s cool, carefully unmold the tart.
- Toast the almond slices in the frying pan (no oil) until golden, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar and toasted almond slices on top, if desired, and serve slightly warm. Cut into wedges and enjoy!
-
The tart can be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Slightly re-heat the tart before serving.
Wow this tart looks amazing! I’m not too fond of frangipane (even though in France it’s ultra famous) but with pears I bet it tastes better and less heavy in mouth. Totally should try this for Christmas instead of the usual galette des rois
Thank you so much for your kind words, Andrea! It’s actually quite light. I prefer less sweet and lighter desserts. 🙂
Hi Nami, just wanted to let you know that the front page of your email says “Pear and Apple Tart”. (That might be a nice combinations as well 🙂 )
Hi Jerry! UGH. I just saw it (and never caught my mistake). I’m happy to know someone actually read my newsletter carefully (I always wonder if people read my newsletter carefully hahahah). Anyway, too late to fix, but thank you for letting me know. I have to be careful and always triple check!
Hi Nami, pear tart is my favorite dessert! I am going to try this!
Would you recommend using pears that are more ripe or more firm?
Thanks,
Jo
Hi Jo! I hope you will like this recipe as much as we do! It’s firm enough to peel the pear without a struggle, and when you eat it, it should be tender. Am I making sense….?! 🙂
Yes thank you! I’ll try it and report back!
Jo
Is it ok to use a regular pie crust for this dessert?
Hi Astrarria! Sure, if you have your favorite pie crust recipe, sure, you can do that. 🙂
Hi Nami! I’m excited to be making my first tart with a homemade crust for Thanksgiving! I’ve got my dough disks and filling in the fridge :-). My question is how baked should the crust be before I put the filling in…just blind baked? Not baked at all? Partially baked?
Thanks for this and all your great recipes!
Hi Micki! So sorry for my late response. What type of filling? Is that required to bake/cook? If so, do partial bake (or not bake). I mentioned that I like particial bake because I like crispy tart crust not soggy ones. Read “What is Blind Baking?” section in my tart recipe post. 🙂
Thank you Nami! I’m referring specifically to the pear almond tart filling. I’m doing the blind baking now. Given it also will bake when filled I’ll leave it at that, unless you say to go ahead and partially bake after blind baking. I will fill it and finish it Thursday.
Hi Micki! Oh okay so you are making the pear and almond tart. Then partial bake for tart. And when are you ready to bake, fill the filling and then finish baking for 40-45 mins until golden. Hope I answered clearly. If you have a last min question, tweet me (i get too many emails to spot your question). Good luck!
The tart was a HUGE HIT! We ate it too fast to take a picture. Thank you for all your help Nami!
Hi Micki! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you very much for your kind feedback. Don’t worry about taking a picture. It’s a great sign. 😉
Hello nami, exactly how long do you have to pre-bake (bake blindly) the pastry crust?
Hi Ruth! Thanks for bringing to my attention. It should be partially baked, which should be an additional 5 minutes, after removing the pie weights. So 25 mins total. 🙂
Hi Nami! I’ve already made this twice now, and will possibly make it a third time to bring over for xmas dinner! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Hi Sarah! AWWW 2 times already! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this recipe (I do too!). Thank you for writing your kind comment. Your comment made my day! xoxo
Hi Nami. I plan to make your pear tart and have question on the crust. If I buy the store-bought pie crust, should I pre-bake it, put the filling, and bake it again? Or can I put the filling in the crust and bake it altogether?
Thanks!!
Hi Janti! A lot of people bake it all together (no blind baking), so that’s okay too. I don’t like my crust to be soggy, so I like to blind bake first. 🙂 This filling is not too liquidy, so it shouldn’t be too bad, if you don’t blind bake. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks Nami!! Hope it turns out good. ????
Made this today! Turned out great! May use less confectioners’ sugar next time by .25 cup less. Still tasted good with the recipe amount of sugar + tea. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for trying this recipe! So glad your tart came out well. Thanks so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
I made this for Christmas dinner. What a lovely dessert!
Thank you for the great photos and detailed directions.
Hi Marjie! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! I’m so happy yours came out well! 🙂
I just made this and it is SO yummy! I was worried because the sugar and butter didn’t turn into a corn-meal texture, it was just like creamed butter. However, I just kept going with the recipe and it turned out aaaaamazing! I don’t really know how to fit 3 full sized pear-halves in there (maybe get thinner ones next time?), and just got two on. Either way this was such a great dessert and not too sweet at all 🙂 PS I made pie crust for the first time using your sweet tart crust recipe! It’s a keeper!!!
Hi Jean! I’m really happy to hear you liked the recipe! I used smaller pears from Trader Joes as I’ve used bigger pears and it was a tight fit. Thank you for the kind words. 🙂
I made the tart last night, but I kept looking over your recipe to try and find out how much sugar to use in the frangipane. I couldn’t find it, so I looked at another recipe for the sugar content. In the end , it was too sweet. Could you please separate your recipe between the crust and the frangipane? Thank you.
Hi Judy! You have to click the link “1 sweet tart crust (9-10 inch, 23-25 cm)” in the Recipe Card to get the recipe, so the sugar used for the crust is NOT mentioned in this recipe.
Here’s my tart crust recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/tart-crust/
I have a ton of asian pears from my CSA, will those work in this recipe?
Hi Alycia! Although I’ve never used Asian pears for this particular recipe, I think you can use them. 🙂
I’m not rating yet because my first attempt was…let’s say I get the participation trophy, haha. I’ve suspected for a while now that my oven’s dial (yes dial) was…how do you say…an approximation? Statement of ambition? Either way, I am going to have to try again once I get my hands on a good oven thermometer (already researched and ordered) to make sure the actual temperature in the oven is correct. Ideally I’d love to have an actual rolling pin too by then instead of an old thermos, haha. All that considered then, my recommendation for anyone who hasn’t baked more seriously than the occasional batch of cookies is that you get a good oven thermometer and check the accuracy of your oven’s controls (mine is literally a mechanical knob) and I’m thinking check for hotspots too, especially if you have a non-convection oven like mine. I’m looking forward to giving this another try once I’m better prepared (and tasting the results of this first one should they prove edible, hahaha)
Hello Taylor! You made me smile. Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m not sure if it was underbaked or overbaked (probably this case?), but hopefully you will figure out the real oven temperature. Even a new oven I have, I have hot spots. It’s really good to know the actual oven temperature especially using the older oven (I used to use it, so I can relate). 🙂
A glass bottle (like wine bottle?) would work to roll out the dough too. Thanks again for your comment!
I can’t read this recipe.. “pear and almond tart”
Hi Jung! I’m so sorry for the inconvenience. Although we see the site just fine, some readers seem to be experiencing a similar situation as you and have emailed me. I emailed you with the recipe. We’re currently trying to figure out what’s causing and will find out as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Hi NAMI !
I’m looking forward to trying my hand at this luscious dessert. Almond is one of my very favorite flavors! I know that baking requires strict adherence to measurements and instructions. I discovered that my tart pan is 11″ by 1.125″. How should I adapt to this discrepancy? Thank you! ~Kathryn
Hi Kathryn! The tart may be enough (but just enough, no extra) but filling and may not be enough. So it’s safe to increase the ingredient amount by at least 25% more. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This tart is *sensational* as acclaimed by my family – the toughest critics I know! Keys to this success are the clear and detailed instructions, and the superb flavour combinations.
I applaud your detailed instructions: the use of copious pictures, the tips on chilling and timing and, most importantly, not assuming that your readers are experts. This as helped me achieve consistent results on successive bakes.
The visual presentation, textures and flavours of the resulting bake meet or exceed that of high-end professional patisseries.
I’ll just say again, *sensational*.
Ah, just discovered how to apply a rating.
Put it down to my eagerness to comment.
Hi Jeremy! Thank you for the stars and your kind words. I’m so happy that your family enjoyed this dessert, my favorite! It takes time to take step-by-step pictures and thought of giving up so many times in the past 9 years… but comments like yours keep me going. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback! Now I want to eat a slice of this tart… 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thank you – the recipe is amazing! I made twice and everyone loved the tart (especially my husband). Your recipes are so perfect for me — I live in upstate NY and I love to make Japanese-y food with ingredients that I can find here. I am looking forward to trying your other recipes!
Thank you,
Miki
Hi Miki! I’m so happy to hear you already made this recipe twice and everyone enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind words and feedback. I hope you find some recipes that you like on my website. 🙂
I used the same pan as you. You must have incredibly small pears. I could only get five rows of pears and that was pretty crowded.
Hi Mrs. Harkcom! Thank you for trying my recipe! I got mine from Trader Joe’s and I did notice that ones in a bag are smaller compared to ones sold individually at other stores. I included that “Use smaller ones possible” in the ingredient note section. You can see the size of my pears in ingredient pictures. 🙂
My 13 year old made the tart today for her dad’s birthday. Absoolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe, Nami.
We all loved how delicate the flavor was, perfect sweetness level. We all agreed that no store bought tart is comparable to this version. We will be making it again and again.
Hi Natalia! WOW!! Your 13-year-old is amazing to make this dessert and she’s very impressive! Thank you for your kind feedback. Happy Belated Birthday to her dad. 🙂
I just wanted to ask did you wait for the pears to be completely ripe for your Pear and Almond Tart?
Hi Yevonne! Hmm it’s ready to use, but I did not use soft pears… still firm that I can slice into a fan shape.
Hi, how should I adjust the ingredients if I would like to use this recipe to make an almond tart (without the pears)?
Will the cooking time me the same as well?
Hi JC! You mean without putting the pear on top? Hmmm… I haven’t made it like that, but I think it is less baking time. 🙂
Hi, yup just the tart with the frangipane filling. Will I have to double the frangipane to fill the tart since I won’t be potting any pears?
Hi JC! Yeah, probably 1.5 x more? It will fluff up when baked, so you don’t have to go all the way till the top of the crust. 🙂
Okay, thank you so much!! 😃
Hi! Is it alright to use bosc pears instead? Do you have any suggestions for alternatives to apricot jam?
Hi Fiona! You can use bosc pears too. Hmmm anything to waterproof the tart, but you can skip it if you don’t have it. 🙂
Very good recipe! A staple in my house! Have done this recipe several times 🙂
Hi Maggie,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.
We’re so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed this Tart!
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. So this was a journey. I don’t consider myself a baker, and I’ve generally stayed away from complex recipes, but almond-pear tarts have been my favorite dessert after time spent in Montreal, CA writing in a cafe that served it. With my home-baked (ha) wedding coming up, I decided I wanted to serve my guests this tart, which meant – time to practice. (Maybe I just needed an excuse to eat this incredible dessert again. Maybe I just really love almond-everything.)
Over several months, I fought my fears & anxieties over this recipe slowly – buying a hand mixer, letting it stand for a few weeks gathering dust, buying the tart pan mentioned on this page, buying a silicone brush…Buying pears, having them go bad. Then last week finally forcing myself to get all the ingredients and prepping – not 1, but 3 (!) homemade crusts from the linked recipe! Making the frangipane. Ha, I mean making 2 big bowls of frangipane. Reading this recipe probably 10 times through.
Finally – having done everything but roll out the dough and cut up pears – I assembled the tart and put it in the toaster oven (my favorite and most temperature-precise oven). Within minutes my home began to smell of almonds and pears, it was in-cre-di-ble. It came out PERFECT. The flavor…the texture…my first bite changed my mood. I nearly cried. I was sharing the tart with my husband and my brother, and I had to walk away with my plate so I could bond with this tart in relative privacy. I could hear them yelling how good it was. It was 9pm at night when the tart came out of the oven but there was only 1 little slice left in the morning, and only because I had squirreled it away, and it was even better in the morning. With every beautiful bite, exalting in the fact that there was another prepped crust and another entire batch of frangipane and 3 more pears waiting for me in the fridge.
Thank you for this incredible recipe.
Hi Otter,
Aww…..Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you and your family enjoyed this tart!
We couldn’t be happier to hear how much joy and excitement Nami’s recipe has brought to you.
Thank you for writing to us!! 🙂
So happy to see a ‘make ahead’ (3 days in the fridge-Wow!) recipe perfect for the holidays or any crowd gatherings (not now, but hopefully one day soon in 2021) when our kitchen is very busy. I have used poached pears for similar tarts before but will try your version this year to keep it more simple. Thank you Nami :D. Wishing you and your family a healthy, safe, SIP holiday season.
Hi Karen,
Yes! This is a perfect Tart recipe for the Holiday seasons!
We hope you like the taste as well. Stay safe and Have a wonderful Holiday! 🤗-From the JOC team
Does it matter to use fresh pear or poached pear for this tart?
Hi Vida,
We recommend using fresh pears for this recipe. 😉
Hi Nami,
I actually am in the process of backing mine now – however, I use a convection over so my oven temperature automatically is lower set to 350*F even when I type in 375*. Despite that, I noticed that my tart crust edge golden/almost burn quite quick compared to the rest of the tart (this is for partially baked at 25 min.) Is there a convection oven temperature that you recommend? 325*F? Also, I could only fit 2 pears onto my 9in tart pan. The center of the tart remains quite liquidy (when the toothpick goes in, it is not a clean pull out), but again, the edges are all golden and close to burning that I had to throw foil over it to prevent it from darkening quicker. Should the center just be liquid due to all the pears joining in the middle, or should I leave the center empty and not have the pears touch at all? Thank you!
Hi Izumi,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe!
The temperature for the convection oven is 350F (Usually set 25F lower than the oven Bake).
However, if your crust edge is golden too quick, we think your inside oven temperature is higher than what it shows in the display. So you may want to use the thermometer and check your inside oven temperature. Also, make sure you are using the oven rack in the middle position.
As for the center part, we recommend arranging the pears as shown in Step 5, and please make sure to space pears out so they are not touching even the center part so the filling will puff up in the middle too. We think your pear was bigger and taller than Nami’s and touching each other a little too much at the center.
We hope this helps!
Do you know if I could substitute flax egg for the 2 eggs in this recipe? Or is there another substitute I could use? Thanks!
Hi Kim,
We’ve never used flax egg or other substitute products before, so we are not sure how the outcome will be… please let us know how it goes!
I made this for my family and wow! What a delicious dessert. I think I will be making it every winter from here on out. It’s dinfinitely not too sweet, which I really like, and the pear and almond go so well together. Thank you for your recipe and detailed instructions!
Hi Hope!
Aww… We are so happy to hear you enjoyed this Tart.🥰
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
Hi Nami, I baked this pie for a new year’s gathering and it was a hit. I like it that we can do the different parts earlier. My hubby was worried when he didn’t see me in the kitchen baking, not knowing that I have already done the cream and crust already. 😂
I find the almond cream abit sweet in the final product which was surprising as the cream alone didn’t taste sweet at all. It seems like during the bake, the cream absorbed the sweetness from the pears? My guests like the sweetness though.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. I will bake it again. Thank you so much.
Hi Joanna,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear everyone enjoyed the sweetness of this tart.😊
The oven (baking process) heat works with the eggs and sugar, and Almont cream may taste sweeter after baking. Additionally, add the sweetness from the pears as well. We are glad it worked well in your tart!
Happy Baking!