Lighter Bourdaloue Pear Tart

📝 Ingredients

• 1 sheet shortcrust pastry (about 230 g)
• 4 firm pears (about 180 g each)
• 100 g caster sugar (50 g for the syrup, 50 g for the cream)
• 800 ml water + ½ lemon (for the syrup)
• 80 g ground almonds
• 2 eggs
• 100 g fromage frais, 0 % fat
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 15 g cornflour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 15 g flaked almonds

🍴 Utensils

• Tart tin (24 to 26 cm)
• Saucepan
• Peeler
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Paring knife

📖 Steps

1. Take the butter out of the fridge to soften. Make the syrup: put the water, 50 g sugar and the juice of the half lemon in the saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, peel the pears, halve them and scoop out the cores with a teaspoon.
2. Lower the pear halves into the syrup, turn the heat down to low and poach them at a gentle simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the tip of a knife slides in easily without them falling apart. Leave them to cool slightly in the syrup.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Unroll the shortcrust pastry into the tin with its baking paper, prick the base with a fork and keep it in the fridge while you make the almond cream.
4. In the mixing bowl, whisk the softened butter with the remaining 50 g sugar until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition, then the vanilla extract.
5. Fold in the ground almonds, cornflour and fromage frais, and mix until you have a smooth, thick cream. Don't whisk for too long: too much air would make the cream puff up in the oven, then sink.
6. Drain the pear halves and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Spread the cream over the pastry base, then cut each pear half crossways into thin slices, without separating them, and fan it out on the cream, pointed end towards the centre.
7. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cream is puffed and golden between the pears and the pastry is nicely browned at the edges. Scatter over the flaked almonds 10 minutes before the end of baking, so they toast without burning.
8. Leave the tart to cool for at least 1 hour before removing it from the tin and slicing: while warm, the almond cream is still fragile. Enjoy it at room temperature or slightly chilled.