“Where did Colin go for Christmas?”
– jeffrey
My mother likes to understand my roommate’s whereabouts, not because of some great interest in his life, but because she likes to be generally aware when there is a short-term vacancy in my 2bd apartment.
“He’s good, he went home to visit his mom for the holidays. They are close.”
As soon as I said it, I realized the trap I had just laid and immediately walked into.
“Are we close?” she asked.
I turned a tissue box on the coffee table 90 degrees, and then 180 degrees, and then back to its original position, pretending not to hear the question.
“…are we close?” she asked again, with the emotional urgency of somebody who is only going to accept one answer.
“We are physically close at this moment.”
True, at this point, she had moved close enough to me to squeeze the response she wanted to hear out of my throat.
I think we are close in a very specific East Asian way. E.g. she texts me every day between November and March to wear a scarf outside and in return I try to stay calm when she asks me to drive her somewhere but doesn’t know how to get there or the name of the place. In terms of depth, honesty, and effortless rapport, I have always assumed those dynamics only existed with white moms, like a Diane Keaton character or Molly Weasley.
However, every time I visit home, I try to bring an almond pear tart because I know it’s her favorite. One time I showed her the burn scar I got on my wrist from taking it out of the oven and her response was, “Yeah, but it is worth it.” I guess from the outside perspective this thoughtfulness can be construed as closeness, “It’s baked with love!” Actually, what you’re tasting is almond extract. How do you know if you’re doing something out of genuine love or out of an inner sense of guilt and consequential need for approval? Did I really lug raw frangipane 200 miles on the Amtrak just because I wanted compliments on my baking? Honestly, yeah, I did.
Preparation time: 30 minutes | Cook time: 70 minutes | Total cook time: 100 minutes
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 stick of very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg yolk
Combine the flour, confectioners sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 4-5 times to mix the ingredients together. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely (pea-size pieces). Stir the egg yolk and add it a little at a time to the mix, pulsing after each addition. Once the egg is incorporated, process in long pulses (about 10 seconds each) until the dough forms clumps (the sound of the food processor may begin to change). If it seems the dough is too dry to come together, add a teaspoon of very cold water. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, and very, very sparingly knead the dough just to incorporate any ingredients that may have escaped mixing. At this point, you can either press the dough into a 9″ fluted tart pan (with removable bottom) for baking, or chill the dough by wrapping it in a disk and chilling it for up to a day.
Blind bake the crust:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Poke the pressed crust several times with a fork to let the steam vent and prevent puffing. Bake the crust for ~20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Transfer the crust to a cooling rack, keeping it in the pan.
For the filling
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup ground blanched almonds
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture is smooth and satiny. Add the ground almonds and continue to process until well-blended. Add the flour and cornstarch, process, and then add the egg. Process for about 15 seconds more, or until the almond cream is homogenous. Add the vanilla and process just to blend. Scrape the almond cream into a container and either use it immediately or refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
Final assembly:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (your oven rack should still be centered). Once the partially baked crust is cooled at room temperature, fill the baked crust with the almond cream and spread it even with an offset spatula or a flat knife. Take sliced pears (pre-peeled, in syrup is most convenient) and assemble it on the surface of the pie, pressing gently so that the fruit is set in the cream, but not submerged. Put the tart on a lined baking sheet, and slide the sheet into the oven to bake the tart for ~50 minutes, or until the almond cream puffs up around the fruit and browns. Then transfer the tart to a rack to cool until it’s just warm or to room temperature before unmolding. Optional, glaze the pears with apricot preserves/jam (15 seconds in the microwave to make it spreadable) to give it an extra shine.