Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Tuesdays With Dorie - French Pear Tart

You guys all know by now that (most) every Tuesday is Tuesdays with Dorie here on my little blog because I, with a zillion other bloggers, am baking my way through Baking from my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Though I only joined last April, our little group recently turned one and to celebrate, today truly is Tuesday with Dorie as Dorie herself chose the French Pear Tart as this week's recipe.

I'm still not very good at making pâte sablée/sucrée so that was the part of the recipe that intimitated me the most. To make matters worse, I realized I was out of confectioner's sugar, which the recipe calls for. I decided to throw caution to the wind and use granulated sugar instead and to use one whole egg instead of just an egg yolk to help the dough come together. And you know what? I liked it better that way. I had a lot less problems patting the dough into the pan and in the end, the crust turned out perfectly crumbly and buttery.

The rest of the recipe is a breeze, smells fantastic as it bakes and tastes out of this world good! As the almond cream bakes into the crust, it gives it an almost candy-like texture and taste. And the soft pears contrast really nicely with the cruchy crust. I'm telling you, this is a fabulous tart.

I strongly advise you to try this recipe out for yourselves, I promise, you won't be disappointed! For the recipe, you can buy Baking from my Home to Yours (and if you like to bake, you should!) or you can visit Dorie's blog. How cool is that? Don't forget to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll for more freshly baked goodness!

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58 comments:

Isabelle Lambert said...

oh my god ! elle est superbe ta tarte Lyb ! on dirait qu'elle sort tout droit d'une pâtisserie française !

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I'm glad to know that the crust can be made with those modifications. Your tart is so pretty with the glaze - it was delicious, wasn't it?
Nancy

chocolatechic said...

Oh, yours was so beautiful

Anonymous said...

How cool that you were able to improvise such a success of a crust. Nice work!

Unknown said...

You did a great job. It makes me wish I had done the glaze. My hubby turned his nose up at it. UUGGHH.

CB said...

I love the little pear rosette in the middle. Beautiful! Glad all your modifications worked out better! Love how the glaze makes your tart glisten.
Clara @ iheartfood4thought

• friX • said...

Wow, it looks de-lic-ious !

vibi said...

Fiou! Je sais pas ce qu'elle a ta tarte... mais elle me semble tellement apétissante! Bon, oui... oké, j'y ai goûté et donc je sais qu'elle est à tomber. Mais non, y'a autre chose... la lumière dans ta photo peut-être? Le reflet du sirop? je sais pas... mais bonyenne que c'est beau! LOL

ostwestwind said...

Beautiful, just beautiful, no sword in sight?

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFUL tart! So pretty. It was delicious! I will try it with the glaze next time.

Marie Rayner said...

Your tart looks fabulous!!! I am so impressed. I love the glaze!

Cathy said...

You are right -- this IS out of this world good! Great job improvising on the crust when you found yourself without confectioner's sugar -- sounds like it was perfect. Your tart is seriously beautiful!

Kimberly Johnson said...

Beautiful tart! Thanks for sharing the changes you made to the crust.

Anonymous said...

Yes! I had the same experience with the filling baking into the crust, and it was marvelous!

Natalie said...

Your tart looks so glossy and delicious! Great job!

Amy of Sing For Your Supper said...

Wow, yours really looks amazing!!! That glaze on top just makes it so pretty!

-Amy
www.singforyoursupperblog.com

Danielle said...

Your tart looks oh so yummy! I love that you added a glaze that takes it up a notch in my fancy pants scale! Great work :)

Mary Ann said...

Your tart is absolutely gorgeous and I am glad to know you can use granulated sugar in the crust!

Gretchen Noelle said...

I just love the look of yours! The slices, the glaze...all of it!

Unknown said...

Your tart looks fantastic...rich and glossy. Good to know that the tart dough can be made with granulated sugar too!

grace said...

i have to say again that i don't think pears get used often enough. this tart is elegant, stunning, and completely gorgeous, and it does very nice things for the wonderful fruit that is the pear. :)

Marthe said...

This looks perfect!! I can't wait to try mine..... But I have to practice my patience until tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Your tart looks perfect. The glaze really makes a big difference. YUM!

bee said...

beautiful. confectioner's sugar is simply ground up sugar plus cornstarch. about 1 tbsp cornstarch to 1 cup sugar powdered fine.

Bria said...

Wow! Your tart looks stunning! The glaze looks great and I'm glad your crust worked in the end.

PheMom said...

That is one gorgeous tart. Next time I make this I am making the full size and I'm going to attempt to make it look as pretty as yours!

Heather said...

oh my gosh - that looks so creamy and light and good. i want it right now!!

Anonymous said...

This is absolutely gorgeous and I am hoping there is a piece left for me...is there? No? Oh, well, I am sure it was THAT GOOD! Beautiful photos!

Jaime said...

beautiful tart! how mine turned out was an accident - i just didn't know how it was supposed to look!

Babette said...

Love the glaze. Now I find myself wishing I'd done that (and added the rum...)

Babette

Leslie said...

Your tart is amazing! I mean, that baby is perfect in every way! I LOVE how the glaze looks. Thanks for the improvising tips on the crust.

Peggy said...

Your tart is gorgeous! The glaze is beautiful. I'm jealous. I need to make this again and make the crust this time. :)

TeaLady said...

All I can say is -- Beautiful!!!

Judy said...

Gorgeous tart! I love the middle section and how your eye just goes to that spot. I bet it tasted great, too.

Sara said...

This looks beautiful, and delicious too!

RecipeGirl said...

Beautiful! Completely :)

I simply cannot join in. I'd be as big as a house! I do enjoy seeing everyone's creations though.

Passionate Baker said...

great job!
your tart looks soo good !
<3

Manggy said...

I'm glad the substitution worked out-- I don't always have icing sugar at home too :) I love the center rosette!

Susan @ SGCC said...

Oh, boy! Your tart looks gorgeous! The photos really capture it well. I could dive right in!

Jules Someone said...

What a beautiful looking tart! Glad to know the substitutions worked.

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

Next time I will have to cut the pears "cross-wise", it looks so beautiful! I didn't quite grasp that concept when I made mine.

NKP said...

It looks perfect, you achieved the best browning that I have seen in these tarts.
And your glaze is so rich and shiny!

Anonymous said...

I hate when I discover I'm missing an ingredient at the last minute. BUT you made a great substition.

Cooking for Comfort by Jennifer said...

I could eat through my monitor...I wish we had more of this! AGH!

You did a beautiful job!!!!

kimberly salem said...

your pics are so pretty!! love the way the glaze makes the tart shine. i enjoyed this one a lot, too :)

Anonymous said...

Serendipity is great, isn't it? Your tart is lovely!

Alexa said...

Pears tarts are my favorites... so delicate tasting.
Yours looks fantastic and delectable!

Anonymous said...

Your tart looks so beautiful and delicious! The glaze looks to die for :)

Piggy said...

Your tart is sooooo pretty! Well done!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Your tart turned out beooootifully! I like that you made do with what you had on hand and it turned out better for it.

Di said...

Lovely job on the tart. I like the way you placed the pears, especially in the center. And it's good to know that the crust works well with a whole egg instead of just the yolk.

AmyRuth said...

Oh My Gosh! The most beautiful tart! I forgot to jellify mine so it wasn't shiny. Anyway, no worries with that crust girl. Great job. Especially your little flower in the middle. :-)
AmyRuth

Julie said...

52 commentaires avant moi!!!! Quel succès que cette tarte... et avec raison! Elle semble tellement exquise et gonflée, quelle réussite! Je veux en profiter pour te souhaiter une nouvelle année merveilleuse avec ta famille et je me ferai un plaisir de venir te visiter aussi souvent que possible pour admirer tes très magnifiques photos et tes recettes toujours alléchantes.

Shari said...

It's good to know your crust turned out with some tweaks! I love how your pear looks like a flower in the middle! Great job!

Jacque said...

I used about half the egg white too... the dough is just too sandy and dry with only the yolk.

Your tart looks so pretty. I like the shine of the pears.

ChichaJo said...

Your tart looks like it just stepped out of a Paris patisserie :) I'm going over to Dorie's blog now to get the recipe :)

Anonymous said...

This looks so luscious!

Unknown said...

The pear is useful in weight loss diets, including food, fiber maintains its fullness and cleanses the body, also have many vitamin and potassium. SO the pear is one of the fruits with more properties and is very easy to find it. Just go at supermarket and you will have varieties to shoose from.


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