Pear, Ginger And Almond Tart (vegan)
This vegan pear, ginger and almond tart is a lovely bake for Autumn. Consisting of a crisp shortcrust pastry case filled with stem ginger almond frangipane and poached pears, it would be a brilliant dish for a dinner party, or it is equally good as a coffee morning treat!
Servings 10 people
Ingredients
Poached Pears:*
- 4 small firm conference pears, barely ripe peeled
- 1 litre (4 cups) water
- 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pastry:
- 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 50 g (½ cup) ground almonds (almond flour)
- 30 g (⅓ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 130 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter cold and diced
- 1 Tablespoon cold vodka (or water)
Frangipane:
- 200 g (2 cups) ground almonds (almond flour)
- 60 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 40 g (⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 120 g ( ½ cup + 1 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
- 150 g (⅔ cup) vegan block butter melted
- 120 g (½ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 balls stem ginger finely chopped
To Finish:
- 2 Tablespoons syrup from the jar of stem ginger
- handful toasted flaked almonds
Instructions
- To make the poached pears, place the water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a deep saucepan. Bring up to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the peeled pears and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes until they are tender.4 small firm conference pears, barely ripe, 1 litre (4 cups) water, 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar, juice of 1 lemon, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Set the pears aside to cool in the poaching liquid.
- To make the pastry, mix the flour, ground almonds, icing sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, 50 g (½ cup) ground almonds (almond flour), 30 g (⅓ cup) icing (powdered) sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, 130 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter
- Add the cold vodka (if using) and mix to combine. Gradually add enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for about an hour until firm enough to roll out.1 Tablespoon cold vodka
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface into a circle big enough to line a 25cm round tart tin. Press the pastry right into the corners then roll over the top of the tin with a rolling pin to trim off the excess.
- Prick the base of the pastry shell all over with a fork then place it in the freezer for 20 minutes until solid. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Line the pastry case with baking parchment, pressing it right into the corners, then fill with baking beans or dried rice, making sure that the sides are propped up.
- Bake for 15 minutes then remove the tin foil and baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until very pale golden and dry to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- To make the frangipane, stir together the ground almonds, plain flour, cornflour, ground ginger, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl.200 g (2 cups) ground almonds (almond flour), 60 g (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, 40 g (⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch), 1 Tablespoon ground ginger, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 120 g ( ½ cup + 1 ½ Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
- Add the milk, melted butter and almond extract and whisk until smooth.150 g (⅔ cup) vegan block butter, 120 g (½ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Stir in the chopped stem ginger then scrape the frangipane into the pastry case and spread it level.3 balls stem ginger
- Drain the poached pears and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Slice them in half and use a teaspoon to scoop out the core.
- Arrange the pear halves on top of the frangipane, leaving a small gap in between each one.
- Bake the tart for 50-60 minutes, until the frangipane is set and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few crumbs but no wet batter. You may need to loosely cover the tart with tin foil towards the end of baking if the top starts to colour too much
- Gently brush the warm tart with the stem ginger syrup and scatter over some toasted flaked almonds. Leave it to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.2 Tablespoons syrup from the jar of stem ginger, handful toasted flaked almonds
Notes
- *If you only have soft, ripe pears skip the poaching step otherwise they will become too soft and wet. Simply peel, halve and core them just before assembling the tart. You can also use tinned pears, pat them dry with kitchen paper before using.
- See post above for tips, details, storage instructions and step-by-step photos.
- All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!