Eau-de-vie, or fruit brandy, an Alsatian specialty, is used to great effect in this dish, bringing out the subtle nuances in the pears. A custardy, brandied layer over the tender fruit, along with a nutty topping, gives this tart a complex yet homey air.
Recipe information
Total Time
4 hr (includes making pastry and cooling)
Yield
4 servings with leftovers
Ingredients
For pastry dough
For filling
For topping
Equipment:
Preparation
Make dough:
Step 1
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Beat together yolk and water with a fork and stir into flour mixture until combined well.
Step 2
Knead mixture gently in bowl with floured hands just until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 4 or 5 times more. Form dough into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk.
Step 3
Chill, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.
Make tart shell:
Step 4
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Step 5
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round.
Step 6
Slide bottom of tart pan (separate from rim) under dough and set into rim of tart pan. Cut off excess dough, leaving 1/2-inch overhang, and fold overhang inward. Press dough against side of pan, pushing dough 1/4 inch above rim. Lightly prick bottom of shell all over with a fork and chill until firm, 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 7
Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until side is set and edge is pale golden, 20 to 30 minutes.
Step 8
Carefully remove weights and foil and bake shell until golden, 15 to 25 minutes more. Leave oven on.
Make filling and bake tart:
Step 9
Put a heavy baking sheet in oven. Peel and core pears, then cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices. Toss pears with 1 tablespoon pear brandy in a bowl, then arrange, overlapping, in tart shell. Put a pie shield on tart pan or cover rim with foil and transfer to baking sheet in oven. Bake just until pears are barely tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Leave oven on.
Step 10
Whisk together eggs, yolk, sugar, vanilla, crème fraîche, a pinch of salt, and remaining 1 tablespoons pear brandy until smooth. Pour over pears.
Step 11
Bake until custard is just set 2 inches from edge, about 18 minutes. Remove from oven and remove pie shield.
Make topping and finish baking tart:
Step 12
Stir together all topping ingredients, then gently sprinkle over custard and bake until top is pale golden, about 15 minutes more. Cool tart to warm or room temperature in pan on a rack.
Recipe notes
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