Pear and Hazelnut Frangipane
A frangipane is pie or tart with origins in Italy and France, made with a nut-based custard, especially suited to those who don't like their treats overly sweet. Ground hazelnuts or almonds add a rich texture and a nutty taste. Top the custard with a pretty array of ripe pears or peaches or even better, cover the entire top of the pie with fruit to make this a pleasant dessert that was even better the second day. It's one you'll remember long after it's done.
Prefer tarts to a pie? Go ahead! Keep them in the freezer to have on hand when you need a little nosh. Make the dough using the instructions below or buy a ready-made crust.
The custard recipe comes from Epicurious, but the pie shell is taken from Bon Appetit. Click here for more fabulous desserts.
Ingredients for Crust (click here for the pictures to make the crust)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoons crystal salt or 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup (6 ounces) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
Ingredients for the Custard
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, loose skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel, and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 - 5 firm-ripe Bosc or Anjou pears or 4-8 firm-ripe peaches, depending on how much fruit you want to cover the top of the custard
1/4 cup apricot or orange preserves, heated slightly
Method for Crust (makes 1 crust)
Whisk the sugar, salt, and 1 1/3 cups of flour in a large bowl. Add the butter and, using your fingers, smash each piece into a thin disk. Take your time doing this and don’t feel compelled to break the butter into even smaller pieces.
Drizzle 2/3 cup of ice water over, dispersing it as widely as possible, and mix with a rubber spatula to bring mixture together into a shaggy mass.
Turn the dough out onto a surface and work together with your hands, pushing and flattening until the dough holds together when squeezed in your palm, but some streaks of dry flour are still visible.
Flatten the dough into an 8" diameter disk. Cut into quarters, stack the pieces on top of one another, and flatten the dough with a rolling pin to about half of its original height. At this point the dough should hold together with no dry spots remaining and have nice big flakes of butter showing. Use a bench scraper or a large knife to clean any clingy bits of dough from surface.
Dust the surface with flour, then dust the top of the dough with flour. Roll it out to a 1/4-3/8"-thick round. Wrap the dough around a rolling pin and transfer it to a standard 9"-diameter pie dish. Unfurl the dough into the dish, then lift the edges and allow the dough to slump down into dish. Trim the overhang to an even 1" (there will be some excess). Fold the overhang under and crimp as desired. Cover and chill until very cold, at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours (cover tightly if chilling longer than 1 hour).
Place a rack in middle of the oven; preheat the oven to 400°. Lay 2 sheets of parchment paper over the dough and fill with pie weights or dried beans (they should fill the dish). Set the pie plate on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (this will keep any butter drips from smoking up your oven).
Bake until the edges are golden brown and the bottom is opaque (carefully lift parchment to check), 30–35 minutes. Remove the pie plate from the oven; reduce oven temperature to 300°. Lift out the parchment paper and weights. Bake the crust until evenly chestnut brown all over, 10–15 minutes.
Method for the Custard
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Pour the hazelnuts (halved) onto an ungreased, rimmed cookie sheet. Toast, turning frequently until lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes. Cool and rub the skins off with a kitchen towel.
Pulse the hazelnuts with 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until finely ground, then add flour and pulse to combine.
Beat together the butter and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the almond and vanilla extracts. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the nut mixture until just combined.
Spread the frangipane filling evenly in the pie shell.
Peel, halve, and core the pears, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, holding the slices together to keep the pear shape intact. Arrange the pears decoratively on filling, fanning the slices slightly. Better yet, cover the entire top of the pie with fruit.
Bake until the pears are golden and the frangipane is puffed and golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes.
Brush the pears (not the filling) with the preserves. Cool the pie completely on a rack.
Serving suggestion: Warm each piece slightly and top with whipping cream or ice cream.
A frangipane is pie or tart with origins in Italy and France, made with a nut-based custard, especially suited to those who don't like their treats overly sweet. Ground hazelnuts or almonds add a rich texture and a nutty taste. Top the custard with a pretty array of ripe pears or peaches or even better, cover the entire top of the pie with fruit to make this a pleasant dessert that was even better the second day. It's one you'll remember long after it's done.
Prefer tarts to a pie? Go ahead! Keep them in the freezer to have on hand when you need a little nosh. Make the dough using the instructions below or buy a ready-made crust.
The custard recipe comes from Epicurious, but the pie shell is taken from Bon Appetit. Click here for more fabulous desserts.
Ingredients for Crust (click here for the pictures to make the crust)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoons crystal salt or 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup (6 ounces) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
Ingredients for the Custard
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, loose skins rubbed off in a kitchen towel, and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 - 5 firm-ripe Bosc or Anjou pears or 4-8 firm-ripe peaches, depending on how much fruit you want to cover the top of the custard
1/4 cup apricot or orange preserves, heated slightly
Method for Crust (makes 1 crust)
Whisk the sugar, salt, and 1 1/3 cups of flour in a large bowl. Add the butter and, using your fingers, smash each piece into a thin disk. Take your time doing this and don’t feel compelled to break the butter into even smaller pieces.
Drizzle 2/3 cup of ice water over, dispersing it as widely as possible, and mix with a rubber spatula to bring mixture together into a shaggy mass.
Turn the dough out onto a surface and work together with your hands, pushing and flattening until the dough holds together when squeezed in your palm, but some streaks of dry flour are still visible.
Flatten the dough into an 8" diameter disk. Cut into quarters, stack the pieces on top of one another, and flatten the dough with a rolling pin to about half of its original height. At this point the dough should hold together with no dry spots remaining and have nice big flakes of butter showing. Use a bench scraper or a large knife to clean any clingy bits of dough from surface.
Dust the surface with flour, then dust the top of the dough with flour. Roll it out to a 1/4-3/8"-thick round. Wrap the dough around a rolling pin and transfer it to a standard 9"-diameter pie dish. Unfurl the dough into the dish, then lift the edges and allow the dough to slump down into dish. Trim the overhang to an even 1" (there will be some excess). Fold the overhang under and crimp as desired. Cover and chill until very cold, at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours (cover tightly if chilling longer than 1 hour).
Place a rack in middle of the oven; preheat the oven to 400°. Lay 2 sheets of parchment paper over the dough and fill with pie weights or dried beans (they should fill the dish). Set the pie plate on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet (this will keep any butter drips from smoking up your oven).
Bake until the edges are golden brown and the bottom is opaque (carefully lift parchment to check), 30–35 minutes. Remove the pie plate from the oven; reduce oven temperature to 300°. Lift out the parchment paper and weights. Bake the crust until evenly chestnut brown all over, 10–15 minutes.
Method for the Custard
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Pour the hazelnuts (halved) onto an ungreased, rimmed cookie sheet. Toast, turning frequently until lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes. Cool and rub the skins off with a kitchen towel.
Pulse the hazelnuts with 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until finely ground, then add flour and pulse to combine.
Beat together the butter and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer at moderately high speed until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the almond and vanilla extracts. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the nut mixture until just combined.
Spread the frangipane filling evenly in the pie shell.
Peel, halve, and core the pears, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, holding the slices together to keep the pear shape intact. Arrange the pears decoratively on filling, fanning the slices slightly. Better yet, cover the entire top of the pie with fruit.
Bake until the pears are golden and the frangipane is puffed and golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes.
Brush the pears (not the filling) with the preserves. Cool the pie completely on a rack.
Serving suggestion: Warm each piece slightly and top with whipping cream or ice cream.
For pictures of how to make the crust, click here.