Pear and Frangipane Tarts with Rosemary Sugar

Hi Everyone!

As I was looking for a good recipe to try, I thought about the pot of herbs that I have on my front porch.  This is the first place that I have lived that gets good sun at my outdoor spaces.  All my old apartments had balconies or patios that were in the shade.  I always seemed to kill all the plants I try to grow.  

Now I grow rosemary, basil and sage!  So I was thinking, I wonder if I can find a dessert recipe that uses one of these herbs.  Some of you may be thinking... hmm... herbs in a dessert?! Give it a try.  These are SO tasty!

Let's start!

First of all, yes these are frozen tart shells.  I usually like to make everything from scratch, but this is one of those things that I like that they sell in the store.  They work really well, taste good and who can forget... they save a lot of time!  I especially love these ones because they are mini tart that come with tin baking pans, so I save them and can use them in the future!

I chopped the rosemary pretty fine (probably 1/2 sprig).  Then just added to a little bowl of sugar (about 2-3 tbsp).  I will top the tarts with this sugar mixture.

I used one good sized pear for this recipe.  I made 8 mini tarts, and still had some pear left over to snack on.  I chopped the pear up into little chunks.  I also just left the skin on.  

Frangipane is an almond and sugar mixture that will go in the bottom on the tart. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

3 tbsp. softened butter

3/4 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

1 tbsp. flour

Mix all the ingredients together with a mixer until combined.

So, now I have everything ready to be assembled.

Using an offset spatula (or butter knife if you don't have on), spread a little bit of the frangipane mixture into the bottom of the tart shell.  Don't worry about making this look pretty... you will never see it once the pear and rosemary sugar are on top!  Fill it about half way.

Fill with pear pieces, and top with the rosemary sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  You want the pastry to get a nice golden brown and almost all of the sugar on top should melt.

Here they are!

I was a little hesitant to try these, because I have never used rosemary in a sweet dessert before.  Also, a little side note about myself.  I LOVE to bake, but I am a bit of a picky eater so I don't always eat everything I make.  THESE... I loved!!!  I immediately told my friend Ashley, who is a Pastry Chef, that she needed to try this.  It is that good!  

Serve warm and ENJOY!