Feel like taking on a challenge in the kitchen this weekend? We have just the recipe for you: pear and almond tart with yoghurt whipped cream from prize-winning chef Aengus Moloney.
A pastry chef at JP McMahon’s Michelin-starred Aniar in Galway, Moloney won this year’s Euro-Toques Ireland Rising Pastry Chef of the Year award. Originally from South Africa, he has been living and working in Ireland since 2022.
He warns the recipe may look a little daunting but urges us not to worry too much.
“If you don’t have the time or would rather not make your own pastry, simply use a ready-made tart case and skip the first step. Likewise, if you’re short on time, tinned pears work a treat in the filling, so you can skip the second step, too,” he says.
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He acknowledges that shortcuts will affect the final flavour, but says “they make this delicious dessert much quicker and easier to prepare”.
He also notes the recipe works equally well with apples or pears, and urges us to find a local supplier.
“For this recipe, I used a very interesting flour from Dunany Farm, in Co Louth, where the Workman family grows cereals organically,” he says.
Pear and almond tart with a yoghurt whipped cream (serves eight)
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 70g icing sugar
- 114g butter (room temperature)
- 115g plain flour
- 115g Dunany fine wholemeal flour
- Salt
- 35g egg (see method)
- Beans or rice for blind baking
For the poached pears:
- 4-6 medium pears
- 300g sugar
- 1,000ml water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon
For the almond cream:
- 50g icing sugar
- 100g ground almonds
- 100g butter, at room temperature
- 100g egg (see method)
For the whipped cream:
- 300g Greek yoghurt
- 300g cream
- 30g icing sugar
Method
1. Make the pastry
Start by making the pastry, as it needs time to rest. Mix the icing sugar and butter in a bowl using your hands or a wooden spoon. Add both flours and the salt, and mix until the dough starts to come together.
To save time, beat three eggs together and weigh out 35g for the pastry and 100g for the almond cream. Keep any remaining beaten egg to brush over the pastry later.
Add the 35g of beaten egg to the pastry mixture and gently mix until combined. Bring the dough together into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
The dough will keep in the fridge for up to two days. If you leave it to rest for more than two hours, allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out. Once rested, roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper, each about 40cm long, or on a well-floured surface. I find the baking paper method best, as it makes the pastry easier to transfer to the tart tin.
Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 4-5mm. Use it to line an 8-inch tart tin with a removable base, reserving one sheet of baking paper for blind baking. Trim the edges with a knife and prick the base all over with a fork to help prevent it from puffing up. Place the lined tart tin in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Take a sheet of baking paper slightly larger than the tart tin, or use the reserved sheet, and crumple it into a ball. Open it out again and place it over the pastry. Fill with baking beans or rice, then place the tart tin on a baking tray and bake for 10-15 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and the base has set.
Carefully lift out the baking paper and remove the beans. Return the pastry to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove the tart case from the oven and brush the base with the remaining beaten egg. This helps seal the pastry and prevent it from becoming soggy. Return it to the oven for 3-5 minutes, until the egg has cooked. The pastry should still be fairly pale, as it will be baked again later. Set aside to cool.
2. Poach the pears
Put the water, sugar, cinnamon stick and juice of the lemon into a medium-sized pot. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and leave to simmer.
Meanwhile, peel the pears and add them to the simmering liquid. Crumple a sheet of baking paper slightly larger than the pot, then open it out and place it over the pears to keep them submerged.
Poach for 10-15 minutes, until the pears are tender but not soft. Remove them from the liquid and leave to cool before cutting. You can prepare the pears in advance. Once cooled, cover them with the poaching liquid and refrigerate for up to two days.
When you are ready, cut the pears in half lengthways and remove the cores. Cut each half into half-moon slices, keeping the slices together so you can fan them out later. Cover and set aside while you prepare the almond cream.
3. Make the almond cream and assemble the tart
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the icing sugar and butter using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the ground almonds and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the 100g of beaten egg, mixing well between each addition.
Spread the almond cream evenly over the cooled tart case. Arrange the pear slices on top, fanning them out in a spiral from the outside towards the centre.
Bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning the tart halfway through to ensure even browning. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool before removing it from the tin.
4. Decorate the tart (optional)
The tart is delicious as it is, but for a more decorative finish, peel three or four additional pears and slice them very thinly, using a mandoline if you have one.
Arrange the slices on a sheet of baking paper, overlapping them like fish scales. Use a stencil or plate roughly the same size as the top of the tart to trim the slices into a neat circle.
Using the baking paper, carefully transfer the pear slices on to the tart. You can also boil some of the poaching liquid until it becomes syrupy, then brush it over the pears to give them a lovely shine and help slow down browning.
5. Make the whipped yoghurt cream and serve
Just before serving, whip the cream, yoghurt and icing sugar until soft peaks form.
Serve a slice of pear and almond tart with a spoonful of whipped yoghurt cream, alongside a cup of tea!
Aengus Moloney is a member of Euro-Toques Ireland, a community of chefs, cooks and food producers dedicated to preserving the integrity and authenticity of Irish culinary traditions. Its members champion food culture rooted in quality, provenance and respect for producers, while mentoring the next generation of chefs to carry these values forward.
