Soft pear & vanilla tart
22 March 2025
Difficulty:
At the beginning of the month, we celebrated the 1-year birthday of my second daughter, Gabrielle, and I obviously made a cake for the occasion. I had several constraints: I needed a cake whose different elements I could prepare in advance, with yellow fruits (her favorites, so given the season it was pears with a touch of apple), and with a very soft texture so she could taste a (small) piece. So I decided to make my vanilla cloud cake as the base, with apples/pears cooked in various ways, and a diplomat cream (my favorite) with vanilla. It was probably my last fruity recipe before the arrival of strawberries and other spring/summer fruits, a nice way to enjoy pears one last time!
Equipment:
Inverted tart pan
Whisk
Mini angled spatula
Piping bags
18mm nozzle
10mm nozzle
Pastry nozzle 14mm
Ingredients:
I used the Madagascar vanilla & vanilla extract Norohy from Valrhona : code ILETAITUNGATEAU for 20% off everything on the site (affiliate).
Preparation time: 1 hour + cooking & cooling
For a 28cm tart / 8 to 10 people:
The vanilla sponge cake:
85g egg whites
110g brown sugar
75g flour
50g butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Melt the butter and let it cool.
Beat the egg whites with the sugar until you obtain a firm and smooth meringue.
Add the vanilla extract and the sifted flour with a spatula.
Mix a small portion of this mixture with the cooled melted butter. When the mixture is homogeneous, gently mix the two batters.
Pour into the greased mold and sprinkle with brown sugar, then immediately bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
The apple-pear compote:
2 pears
1 large apple or 2 small ones
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Peel the fruits and cut them into small cubes.
Put them in a saucepan with the vanilla and a little water, then let the mixture cook over low heat, stirring regularly until you get a compote texture with pieces (if needed, add a bit more water during cooking). Let cool.
The poached pears:
2 to 3 pears
150g sugar
1 liter water
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Peel the pears and remove the core.
Bring the water, sugar, and vanilla to a boil. Submerge the pears in, and let them cook at a low boil for about 30 minutes (adjust according to your pears, they should be very tender and soft at the end of cooking). If you have time, let them cool in their syrup.
The vanilla diplomat cream:
100g cream with 35% fat (1)
75g whole milk
1 vanilla bean
50g granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
30g cornstarch
200g cream with 35% fat (2)
Heat the cream (1) and milk with the vanilla bean seeds.
Beat the eggs with the egg yolk and cornstarch, then pour the hot liquid over while mixing well.
Pour it back into the saucepan and thicken over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Pour the pastry cream into a dish, wrap it with cling film in contact and let it cool completely in the refrigerator.
When cool, whip the cream (2) into whipped cream, then gently add it to the pastry cream. Immediately proceed with assembly.
Assembly:
Spread the cooled compote at the bottom of the tart.
Add a layer of diplomat cream and smooth the surface.
Cut the poached pears into thin slices and place them on the cream, then pipe the remaining diplomat around the pears before enjoying!
Equipment:
Inverted tart pan
Whisk
Mini angled spatula
Piping bags
18mm nozzle
10mm nozzle
Pastry nozzle 14mm
Ingredients:
I used the Madagascar vanilla & vanilla extract Norohy from Valrhona : code ILETAITUNGATEAU for 20% off everything on the site (affiliate).
Preparation time: 1 hour + cooking & cooling
For a 28cm tart / 8 to 10 people:
The vanilla sponge cake:
85g egg whites
110g brown sugar
75g flour
50g butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Melt the butter and let it cool.
Beat the egg whites with the sugar until you obtain a firm and smooth meringue.
Add the vanilla extract and the sifted flour with a spatula.
Mix a small portion of this mixture with the cooled melted butter. When the mixture is homogeneous, gently mix the two batters.
Pour into the greased mold and sprinkle with brown sugar, then immediately bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.
The apple-pear compote:
2 pears
1 large apple or 2 small ones
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Peel the fruits and cut them into small cubes.
Put them in a saucepan with the vanilla and a little water, then let the mixture cook over low heat, stirring regularly until you get a compote texture with pieces (if needed, add a bit more water during cooking). Let cool.
The poached pears:
2 to 3 pears
150g sugar
1 liter water
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Peel the pears and remove the core.
Bring the water, sugar, and vanilla to a boil. Submerge the pears in, and let them cook at a low boil for about 30 minutes (adjust according to your pears, they should be very tender and soft at the end of cooking). If you have time, let them cool in their syrup.
The vanilla diplomat cream:
100g cream with 35% fat (1)
75g whole milk
1 vanilla bean
50g granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
30g cornstarch
200g cream with 35% fat (2)
Heat the cream (1) and milk with the vanilla bean seeds.
Beat the eggs with the egg yolk and cornstarch, then pour the hot liquid over while mixing well.
Pour it back into the saucepan and thicken over medium heat, whisking constantly.
Pour the pastry cream into a dish, wrap it with cling film in contact and let it cool completely in the refrigerator.
When cool, whip the cream (2) into whipped cream, then gently add it to the pastry cream. Immediately proceed with assembly.
Assembly:
Spread the cooled compote at the bottom of the tart.
Add a layer of diplomat cream and smooth the surface.
Cut the poached pears into thin slices and place them on the cream, then pipe the remaining diplomat around the pears before enjoying!
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