This popular dessert was named after the street "Rue Bourdaloue" in the 9th arrondissement of Paris which, in turn, has been named after Louis Bourdaloue, a French Jesuit of the 17th century. Bourdaloue was renowned for the quality of his sermon and especially their extreme length, allegedly testing the limits of his devout ladies bladders.
According to the "Dictionnaire universel de cuisine pratique" by Joseph Favre, released in 1905, the first version of this tart (then, a cake) was invented by the baker Mr Fasquelle, in his bakery on Rue Bourdaloue in the mid-19th century, and doesn't include fruit. Other sources indicate Mr Lesserteur, or Mr Coquelin as original inventors, all of them located on the same street.
This recipe is actually much easier than it seems, and is one of our favourite tarts. We decided to make it from scratch, but note that you can use pre-made shortcrust base and halved tin pears instead of poaching them yourself.
 30 minutes + 24h resting time |
 30 minutes |
 8 slices |
Ingredients
For the poached pears :
4 fresh pears, approximately equal in size and shape
1 litre of water
300 grams of sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 vanilla pod
For the sweet shortcrust :
200 grams of plain flour
100 grams of room temperature butter
60 grams of caster sugar
1 egg
A pinch of salt
For the almond cream
100 grams of room temperature butter
100 grams of caster sugar
2 eggs
100 grams of ground almonds
Apricot topping :
100 grams of apricot jam
2 tablespoons of water
Finishing touches (optional) :
10 grams flaked almonds
Bakeware
Round tart tin of 22 cm
Poach the pears
If you're using canned pears, you don't have to poach them. Skip this step.
>> In a large saucepan add the water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla bean, and bring to boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat.
>> In the meantime, start peeling the pears and cut them in half vertically.
>> Add the pear halves to the saucepan and poach for 20-30 minutes, until tender but still holding together. Turn them around after 15 minutes.
>> Take the sauce pan off the heat and once cold, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days (the longer, the tastier).
Make the shortcrust dough
If you're using pre-made shortcrust, you can skip this step.
>> Dice the room temperature butter, and mix it with the sugar and salt. If you have a mixer you can use it.
>> Add the egg, and the flour little by little while mixing until the formation of a ball.
>> Place the dough in cling film, and leave to rest in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours.
Prepare the shortcrust
>> With a rolling pin, roll out the pastry dough flat between two sheets of non-stick paper.
>> Place on the tart tin, pierce the dough with a fork and cut away the superfluous dough along the edge.
>> Place it back in the fridge while you proceed to the filling.
Prepare the almond cream filling
>> Mix the butter with the caster sugar until softened, and add the eggs.
>> Add the ground almonds until well mixed. Don't over-mix otherwise it may start to inflate while cooking.
>> Place the almond cream filling in the shortcrust.
Cook the tart
>> Preheat the oven to 170°C.
>> Take the poached pears out and drain them.
>> Slice them thinly and do not separate the slices ( you want to keep the pear shapes ). Gently place them over the almond filling as shown in the pictures and slightly press them into the filling.
>> Bake the tart on the middle rack for about 20 minutes. Then, sprinkle some halved almonds over the almond filling and place back in the oven for 10 minutes or longer if needed. The tart should be nicely browned on the top, and the center will wiggle if shaken, do not worry it'll solidify once cold.
Finishing touches
>> Mix the apricot jam and water in a small saucepan over a medium heat.
>> Brush a bit of the liquid jam over the tart.
>> Let it cool down before taking the tart out.
>> Let it cool down before taking the tart out.
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