Pear Tart With Almond Cream

Vanilla poached pears nestled in almond cream with a buttery crust.

This tart was surprisingly easy to make: the components are this pie crust, poached pears and almond cream (made even easier by using purchased ground almonds). The finishing touch is a glaze made from reduced and thickened poaching liquid.

I was really looking forward to this tart as I love the combination of pears and almonds and have really enjoyed the variations I’ve tasted in restaurants but this was my first time making one. The pears were delicious but I thought the almond flavour was a little too subtle…perhaps a little almond extract could remedy that. Also, I noticed that the filling pulled away from the crust while cooling; I thought that meant I’d over baked the tart but the centre was quite soft, something the author says to expect, so perhaps it was something else….. oven temperature?

I had certain expectations of this tart so was a little disappointed with the results. I served it for Thanksgiving and no one else seemed to share my disappointment. In my experience, this seems to be typical of recipes from this author…..even my failures are well received!