Spring is here! Finally, we can say goodby to the dark clouds and welcome the days of sun, the bicicle rides and plenty of flowers.
This season always makes me want to bake desserts with tons of fruit, especially beautiful pies. As such, there’s no better way to celebrate Spring’s arrival than with this pear and almond pie.
Its crust is quite crunchy and buttery, with a nice golden color. Inside there is a layer of soft and light almond cream, followed by a delicious pear filling. Served warm and with some vanilla ice cream on the side, it is a treat worth investing your time on.
Almond and Pear Lattice Pie
perfect to start the Spring days
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp table salt
- 125 g unsalted butter (cold)
- 50 ml ice water
Almond Cream
- 90 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 80 g powdered sugar
- 2 eggs
- 100 g almond flour
Pear Filling
- 700 g pears (peeled and deseeded)
- 2 tbsp yellow sugar
- 1 tsp cinnammon powder
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Decoration
- 25 g chopped almonds
- white sugar
Instructions
Lattice Crust
- In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt.
- Chop the cold butter in small cubes and add it to the mixture. Place it in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds until the butter is chopped to smaller bits.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and place it in a bowl. Knead the dough until it is smooth and a little moist. As needed, add spoonfuls of ice water one at a time, to help it reach this texture.
- Wrap this ball of dough in cling wrap and refrigerate it for at least two hours. In the meantime, prepare the other elements of the pie.
Almond Cream
- In the mixer, beat the soft butter with the sugar for about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs and the almound flour. Beat for a couple more minutes.
- Move this cream to a bowl and cover it with cling wrap. Place it in the fridge until it is time to fill the pie.
Pear Filling
- Remove the skin and seeds from the pears and chop them in cubes of about 2 cm in height.
- Place the pear and the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Assembling and Decorating
- Preheat the oven to 180 º C.
- Remove the pie dough from the fridge. Sift some flour over a table and a rolling pin. Split the dough in half. Pick one half, roll it and stretch it until you have a circle of about 24 cm in diameter.
- Place this circle in a pie dish of about 22 cm in diameter, ensuring it covers its entire surface and sides. Trim the edges.
- Spread the almond cream over the surface of the pie bottom, and smoothen it over with a spatula.
- Next spread the pear filling on top of the almond cream. Make sure to distribute it evenly so that is about the height across the pie's surface.
- Spread the remaining dough with the rolling pin, just like you did previously.
- With a sharp knife, cut rectangular trips about 2 cm wide. Carefully lay them over the pear filling and attach them to the edges of the the dough, alternating to make the lattice pattern. (To learn how to do a lattice pattern, please check this recipe's notes)
- Beat one egg in a bowl, just to break up the yolk. Then, lightly brush the pie's top with the eggwash. Sprinkle the surface with the chopped almonds and white sugar.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until the pie crust is a nice golden color and its filling is cooked. Let it cool down a little bit.
- This pie is best served still warm and goes well with a side of whippped cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Notes
To make the lattice crust as seen in the pictures, it is best to check a youtube tutorial such as this one, as it is difficult to put this process into words. This way you can follow along as you try it out.
