Time out for dessert....

This picture is a recipe card from a 1975 issue of Elle Magazine. It is a picture of a Pear Frangipane tart. If you have been in a French Patisserie, you will recognize it as it is one of the staples. My wife cut this card out of the magazine back in 1975 and has been making this tart occasionally ever since then. I've tried it a few times and it's relatively simple and the results are fantastic! Frangipane is an almond pastry cream made with ground almonds. The ground almonds are sold like flour in speciality stores, I found them relatively easily in New York City. If you can't find ground almonds, then you can grind them yourself in a food processor. They are actually used in a lot of pastry like the very dense gateau au chocolat that substitutes the ground almonds for flour entirely. Why not try this!
This is for a 25 cm tart. You really need a low tart pan for this! The kind with a removeable bottom is the best.
The Crust:
Mix together 125 g. of soft butter
250 g. of flour
100 g. of sugar
1 egg
Mix together swiftly, it will form a ball, the less you mix crust the better it the texture..depending on the size of the egg, you might need a few drops of water.
put the crust in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Then you can use your hands to push the dough into the tart pan evenly. Prick the dough with a fork. Put the crust into the oven, 375 degrees for ten minutes or less, just until it starts to get the least bit of color.
Meanwhile, the frangipane:
Mix 100 g of softened butter
100 g of the powdered almonds
100 g of sugar
1 egg
1 soupspoon of flour
you could put in a soupspoon of rum or kirsch, but it is not neccessary.
Beat the mixture until it is soft and uniformly white, then spread it evenly on the cool prebaked tart crust.
The pears: You can use 6 canned half pears. Cut them in thin slices and fan them decoratively like in the picture over the surface of the frangipane. It makes a nice sttar pattern.
Put the tart back in the oven, same temperature for 40 or so minutes. The frangipane will puff up and turn brown. When it is done, let it cool.
You could take some of the syrup in the canned pears and reduce it in a saucepan until it is thickened and glaze the tart when it is cool enough to make it shiny, just like in a patisserie shop. This sounds fussy, but after you've done it once or twice, it's pretty simple and one of the best desserts for all seasons! Bon Apetit, bien sur!