Pear Tart with Pecan Filling

This Pear Tart is a simple and elegant dessert. I modified the recipe to include The New Best Recipe's Sweet Pastry Dough for Tarts. The secret to flaky, buttery crust is to keep everything cold; add the butter when it's cold, completely chill the dough before rolling and even after fitting it into the tart pan. When everything is kept cold, it bakes well and has the most buttery texture.

Sweet Pastry Tart Dough ("The Best Recipe" America's Test Kitchen)

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  

Pecan Filling and Pear Tart

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 cup pecans
  
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut up
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• 8 large canned pear halves, well drained, patted dry, and thinly sliced lengthwise

1. Whisk the yolk, cream and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor and process to combine. Scatter the butter over the flour mixture; process to cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles course meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses.

With the machine running, add the egg mixture and process until the dough just comes together, about 12 seconds. Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a 6-inch disk. Refrigerate at least 1 hr or up to 2 days.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 12-inch round. Fit dough into a 9-inch removable bottom tart pan lifting into and pressing up sides. Refrigerate while you prepare pecan cream.

3. In a food processor, pulse pecans and sugar until finely ground. Add butter, egg, flour, salt, and extract and process until well combined.

4. Spread 1/4 cup jam over bottom of tart shell. Spread almond filling over; chill 15 minutes. Arrange pear slices on top, fanning them out. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and pecan cream is puffed and set. Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pan. Remove from pan. Melt remaining jam and brush over tart. Cool before serving.