Pear Tart — the Parisian tarte Bourdaloue

i. Origin & history

The tart is named after the rue Bourdaloue in Paris's 9th arrondissement, near the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. The usual account is that it was created in the mid-nineteenth century by a pâtissier with a shop on that street — a man named Fasquelle is often mentioned — and that it took the street's name, as Parisian pastries often did. The original creation is sometimes described as a pear dessert with frangipane and crushed macarons, and the recipe has evolved since; the precise details of its first version are not well documented.

The street itself was named after Louis Bourdaloue, a celebrated Jesuit preacher at the court of Louis XIV, whose sermons were reputedly so long that ladies of the court brought small portable chamber pots to church — which, the story goes, became known as bourdalous. It is a favourite piece of French culinary trivia, and a reminder that pastry names often have nothing to do with the pastry.

Whatever its exact origins, the tarte Bourdaloue was firmly established in the French pastry repertoire by the early twentieth century and appears in the standard reference works of French cookery. Its success lies in its simplicity: it combines two basic preparations every pâtissier knows — almond cream and poached fruit — into something that looks elegant with the fanned pears sitting in golden almond cream.

Today it is made all year with poached or even good tinned pears, though it is at its best in autumn and winter, when French pears such as Williams, Conference, Comice and Passe-Crassane are in season. Variations replace the pears with apricots, plums or peaches, but in a French bakery "tarte Bourdaloue" almost always means pear.

ii. Why the pears are poached, sliced and fanned

A raw pear is full of water and, especially when ripe, very soft. Baked directly in almond cream it releases juice into the filling, leaving it wet around the fruit, and it can still be underdone when the almond cream is cooked. Poaching the pears in a light vanilla syrup first solves both problems: it softens them evenly, replaces some of their water with syrup and seasons them with vanilla and lemon.

After poaching, the pears must be drained and dried thoroughly. This is the step most often skipped, and it is the main reason for a soggy pear tart. Leaving them on kitchen paper for 15 minutes is enough.

Each pear half is then sliced thinly crosswise, keeping the slices together in the shape of the half, and pressed gently to fan them out. This lets the almond cream rise between the slices, so each mouthful has pear and almond together, and it gives the tart its characteristic look: a star or flower of fanned pears with golden almond cream between them.

The almond cream (or frangipane) is spread thinly — no more than half the depth of the case — because it rises substantially in the oven. As it bakes, the cream puffs up around the fruit, sets and browns, and the edges of the pears caramelise lightly. Brushing the hot tart with warm, sieved apricot jam gives the classic shine, keeps the pears moist and adds a gentle tartness.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 10 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 200 g plain flour, for the pastry
• 70 g icing sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 110 g cold unsalted butter, diced, for the pastry
• 1 egg, for the pastry
• 3 ripe but firm pears, peeled, halved and cored
• 600 ml water
• 150 g caster sugar, for poaching
• 1 vanilla pod, split
• 1 strip lemon peel, plus 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 100 g unsalted butter, very soft, for the almond cream
• 100 g caster sugar, for the almond cream
• 100 g ground almonds
• 2 eggs, for the almond cream
• 15 g plain flour, for the almond cream
• 1 tbsp poire Williams or dark rum (optional)
• 20 g flaked almonds
• 2 tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved

Use pears that are ripe but still firm: Williams (Bartlett), Conference, Comice or Bosc. For a quicker tart, many French home cooks use good tinned pear halves in light syrup; drain and dry them well and skip the poaching. Poire Williams, the clear pear eau-de-vie, intensifies the pear flavour in the almond cream; dark rum is the other classic choice. Keep the poaching syrup — it is excellent for soaking sponge cakes or poaching more fruit.

iv. Method

1. Bring the water, 150 g sugar, vanilla pod and lemon peel to a simmer. Rub the pear halves with lemon juice, add them to the syrup, cover with a circle of baking paper and poach very gently for 10–15 minutes until just tender to the tip of a knife. Cool in the syrup.
2. For the pastry, rub the flour, icing sugar, salt and cold butter to fine crumbs, add the egg and bring together. Flatten, wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Roll out to 3 mm and line a 23–24 cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Prick and chill for 20 minutes. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F), fan 160 °C. Blind-bake with paper and beans for 15 minutes, then 5 minutes uncovered.
4. Lift the pears from the syrup and lay them cut-side down on kitchen paper for 15 minutes to dry.
5. For the almond cream, beat the soft butter and sugar until smooth, then beat in the ground almonds, the eggs one at a time, the flour and the poire Williams. Spread evenly in the pastry case.
6. Slice each pear half thinly crosswise, keeping its shape, press gently to fan it and lift it onto the almond cream with a palette knife, arranging the six halves like the spokes of a wheel, narrow ends to the centre. Scatter flaked almonds in the gaps.
7. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the almond cream is puffed, deep golden and set between the pears.
8. Brush the hot tart with the warm apricot jam. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then unmould and serve warm or at room temperature.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Poach gently. A bare simmer keeps the pears whole. Boiling syrup breaks them up before they are tender.
• Dry the pears thoroughly. Wet fruit leaks syrup into the almond cream and leaves it soggy around each slice.
• Keep the slices together. Slice the half on the board, then slide a palette knife underneath to lift the whole fan in one go.
• Spread the almond cream thinly. It rises a great deal; too much and it engulfs the pears.
• Glaze while hot. Warm jam on a hot tart spreads thinly and sets with a clear shine.
• Use the syrup. Reduce leftover poaching syrup with a splash of the eau-de-vie to serve alongside or to soak a sponge.

vi. Variations

The spiced pear tart poaches the pears in red wine with cinnamon and star anise for a darker, wintry version. Some pâtissiers scatter crushed macarons or amaretti over the top, in the spirit of the original. A chocolate Bourdaloue adds cocoa to the almond cream or a layer of ganache under it, echoing the pear-and-chocolate poire Belle-Hélène. The same method works with apricots, plums and peaches.

For other almond-cream tarts, see the plain almond tart, the fig and honey tart and the English Bakewell tart. If you prefer pears baked in batter, the flaugnarde is the rustic answer.

vii. Serving & storage

Serve the pear tart slightly warm or at room temperature, on its own or with crème fraîche, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or a little crème anglaise. In France it is a bakery staple for Sunday lunch and afternoon coffee, and a good tart to make for guests because it looks impressive and is made entirely in advance.

Keep the tart covered at room temperature on the day it is baked, then in the fridge for up to 3 days; bring it back to room temperature or warm it briefly in a low oven before serving. The pears can be poached up to 3 days ahead and kept in their syrup in the fridge. The almond cream keeps for 3 days in the fridge, and the baked tart freezes for up to a month.

ix. More from French

• Spiced Pear Tart — red-wine pears
• Almond Tart — tarte aux amandes
• Fig and Honey Tart — figs on almond cream
• Flaugnarde — fruit baked in batter
• Apple Turnover — chausson aux pommes
• Bakewell Tart — British almond-jam tart