25/10/2026
Irish pears are in season, and Sarah Butler is making the most of them with this delicious Irish Pear & Frangipane Tart 😍
The perfect excuse to pop the kettle on, put your feet up and enjoy an extra slice this long weekend! ☕
Ingredients
Pastry (or 1 ready-rolled sheet):
200g plain flour
100g cold butter
40g caster sugar
1 small egg
2–3 tbsp cold water, if needed
Filling:
3 ripe, firm pears
1 tbsp lemon juice
115g each of softened butter, caster sugar & ground almonds
3 eggs
15g plain flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp lemon zest
To finish:
2 tbsp apricot jam
Icing sugar & whipped cream (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 190°C/170°C fan/Gas 5.
For homemade pastry, blitz flour, butter & sugar until crumbly. Add egg and enough water to form a dough. Chill for 20 mins.
Roll out pastry and line a 23–25cm tart tin. Prick base, line with baking paper and baking beans. Blind bake for 15 mins, remove beans and bake for another 5 mins.
Peel, halve, core and thinly slice pears. Drizzle with lemon juice.
Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Mix in almonds, eggs, flour, vanilla and lemon zest until smooth.
Spread frangipane into pastry case and arrange sliced pears on top.
Bake for 35–40 mins until golden and cooked through.
Cool for 15 mins, then brush with warmed apricot jam for a glossy finish.
Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream. 😍
Tip: There’s no need to poach the pears first. As long as they are ripe but still firm, they’ll soften beautifully as the tart bakes, making this a much quicker and easier version of the classic.
