Tarte Bourdaloue
Baking, Culinary and Pastry Arts, Desserts, holiday baking, pastry
Tarte Bourdaloue
When it comes to holiday seasonal desserts Pear Frangipane Tart is unquestionably one of my all-time favorites. This classic French tart or “tarte” as it is spelled in French is known as Tarte Bourdaloue. It is said to have been created in the pastry shop Bourdaloue in Paris in 1909 by the famous patissier Coquelin. However,…
When it comes to holiday seasonal desserts Pear Frangipane Tart is unquestionably one of my all-time favorites. This classic French tart or “tarte” as it is spelled in French is known as Tarte Bourdaloue. It is said to have been created in the pastry shop Bourdaloue in Paris in 1909 by the famous patissier Coquelin. However, there is some dispute about the legitimacy of that claim.
In my version of the Pear Almond tart, I start with poaching pears in a simple syrup of sugar and water that is flavored with Chardonnay and Vanilla. I then roll out a chilled base of pate sucrée and form into tart pans. I then place the sliced pears on a small amount of jam and fill in the empty spaces with Frangipane. I then decorate with a border of sliced almonds and bake them. Once baked, the Frangipane has the texture of cake. Frangipane (also spelled Frangipani) is used in many types of tarts and pastries. Two of these are the famous Bakewell Tart from England and the French Pastry, Pithivier that is encased in puff pastry.
To make this pastry, any type of tart pan can be used; however, I like to use the pans with removable bottoms because of the ease of removal of the tart once baked. In this post, I produced these tarts in large production in our club’s kitchen with a special machine called a dough sheeter which is used in commercial pastry shops and bakeries. It has two conveyor belts on both sides with a set of mechanized steel rollers in between. As the dough is rolled back in forth the rollers are brought closer and closer together by the operator in order to reduce the dough in thickness until the dough reaches the exact size that is needed. Alternately the dough can be rolled out by hand for small production or at home. My home size recipe is as follows:
Pate Sucree (Home recipe)
Yield 2 -10″ Tarts
18 ounces All-purpose flour
12 ounces Butter (unsalted)room temperature
6 ounces Granulated Sugar
2 each Eggs, Large
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Pinch or salt
1) Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing machine with the paddle attachment
2) Add the flour, eggs, salt, and vanilla
3) Mix just until a smooth paste is formed
4) Take out the dough and knead it into a ball and chill until firm
5) When ready to use knead the dough just enough to make it pliable and roll out while still cold.
Step one and two in preparing the tarts is to poach the pears and to roll out and fill the tart pans with pate sucree.
While the pears are poaching, the almond cream (frangipane) can be made. It is a simple recipe or formula, as bakers and pastry chefs like to call it, accomplished in three steps in a mixing machine. Made with almond paste, granulated sugar, eggs, butter, cake flour, a small amount of vanilla and a touch of salt. Here is the recipe for Frangipane:
Frangipane (Home recipe)
Yield 2 – 10″ tarts
8 ounces Almond Paste
8 ounces Granulated Sugar
8 ounces All-purpose or cake flour
8 ounces Butter (room temperature)
4 each Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1) In a mixing machine with the paddle attachment mix the almond paste and the sugar with one egg until smooth on low speed
2) Add the butter and add one more egg and mix until smooth
3) Add the flour, vanilla and the last two eggs; mix until a smooth creamy paste is formed
4) Use as needed or store in the refrigerator or freezer until needed.
In the next steps pipe in a small amount of apricot jam or orange marmalade, then slice the poached pears and lay them into the pans.
In the last steps with a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, fill in the empty spaces in the tarts with the Frangipane. Then press some sliced almonds into the edges of the Frangipane and bake.
Hot out of the oven these tarts are now ready to be glazed.
To finish the tarts, I brush them while still hot with an apricot glaze and then slice them and serve them warm with vanilla ice cream or Cream Anglaize for a decadent dessert that is perfect for the cold winter weather of the Christmas holiday season. Happy New Year!
One of my favorite wintertime tarts is made with Pears and an Almond cake-like filling known as Frangipane. It is served best warm with Ice Cream or Vanilla Sauce
