The last time I was in Paris I was lucky to have sampled Cedric Grolet’s William Pear tarts, just out of the oven. Smitten, I looked for William pears but the closest pears I could find were baby Bartlett pears. They appear at Whole Foods our my Midwest farmers market around The beginning of October. My almond cream does not have any flour. Never fear, it will set up just fine without it. I find it creamier and lighter than a traditional Frangipane that’s made with flour. Six 4″ partially baked Pate Sablée or Pate Sucrée tart shells (You can use your own recipes or find mine on my pages. You can also use the Pierre Herme recipe which appears in his own books as well as Doris Greenspan’s books. It is my preferred pate sucree recipe at this point in time).

YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING COMPONANTS for six 4 inch tarts:

• 9 fresh Bartlett pears about 2.5”-3” tall
• 1 cup of almond cream
• Six 4” pate sablée or pate sucrée partially baked tart shells (You can use your own recipes or find mine on my pages. You can also use the Pierre Herme recipe which appears in his own books as well as some of Doris Greenspan’s books. It is my preferred pate sucree recipe at this point in time). You need about 370 grams of dough for 6 tart shells. You will have to re roll the scraps. Make sure not to over bake them. They should be firm and pretty blond. They’ll take on quite a bit of color in the oven during the second bake.
• 1/2 cup of sliced almonds for garnish

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