Pear and Almond Frangipane Freeform Tart – Gluten free

Pear + Almond Frangipane Freeform Tart – Gluten Free

When Sunday rolls around (often with a blink of an eye), I make my morning commute into The Valley — A stunning tree lined, farm strewn, creek lined, rainforest just 5 kilometers from the beach. It’s a place to fill your heart with love, beauty and splendor surrounded by friends and family, cows and chickens. It’s the kind of place that grounds you instantly

But on Sunday, it’s a place that I fill my Moroccan market basket.

On a gravelly patch of land, a little pop up stall appears offering the very best produce of the season — the kind of place where pears, with their light perfume + soft golden skin, are at their best. Instantly dreams of a warm tart filled my imagination.

This gluten free Pear + Almond Frangipane Freeform Tart was born from that Sunday ritual — a moment of using up what was left in the basket, sweet fruit matched with an almond sweet butter paste, a sugar dusted crisp rough puff pastry, baked into caramelized edges that look fancy, but require zero fuss.

This tart becomes a memory. A little elevated, A little rustic, A little luxury for a Sunday.

why you’ll love this recipe

• gluten free pastry that’s actually flaky + crisp

• rustic freeform tart — no tin needed, no fussing

• juicy pear + almond frangipane = so elegant and simple

• looks bakery-level beautiful — genuinely achievable

• uses pantry basics + seasonal fruit

• perfect with tea or coffee

• the frangipane is rich but not heavy

This tart felt like the perfect way to hero those Valley–Sunday pears. Nothing stressful, nothing fancy for the sake of fancy — just good gluten free pastry, almond sweetness, tender fruit and the kind of baking that invites everyone to pause for a moment and sit together at the table.

We sliced it while still warm, sugar melting into the edges, coffee brewing, kids hovering. A small, simple afternoon. A moment you feel in your body.

This is the kind of gluten free baking I love — beautiful, seasonal, unforced — and always just a little bit magic.

Pear + Almond Frangipane Gluten Free Freeform Tart

serves 4 — rustic, buttery, honestly quite easy

Gluten Free Rough Puff Pastry

• 250 g cold butter, cubed

• 500 g gluten free plain flour

• pinch salt

• 1 tsp xanthan gum

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 6–12 tbsp cold water

Instructions — Pastry

1. In a bowl combine flour, salt + xanthan.

2. Add vinegar + enough cold water to bring it just to a dough (how much depends on your flour + weather).

3. Add butter cubes + very lightly mix through — you want the butter still in pieces.

4. Between 2 sheets of silicone/baking paper roll into a 20×30 cm rectangle.

5. With the short side closest to you — fold the bottom ⅓ up, then the top ⅓ down.

6. Turn so the short side is in front of you again + re-roll to 20×30 cm.

7. Repeat that fold + turn 5 more times.

8. Cut dough in half, wrap each piece + chill 1 hour.

(you’ll only use one half for this tart — the other keeps 5 days in the fridge / 3 months in the freezer)

Frangipane + Pears

• 2 ripe pears

• pinch cinnamon

• 75 g soft butter

• ⅓ cup caster sugar

• 2 eggs (1 for mix, 1 for egg wash)

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1¼ cups almond meal

• raw sugar for sprinkling

• icing sugar + toasted almonds to serve

Instructions — fill + bake

1. Whip butter + sugar until light + creamy.

2. Add 1 egg + vanilla, mix to combine.

3. Add almond meal, pulse until smooth.

4. Slice pears thinly.

5. Roll pastry (one half only) between sheets to a rough circle ~4mm thick.

6. Spoon half the frangipane in the centre, leaving a 2–3cm border.

7. Arrange pear slices on top, sprinkle with cinnamon.

8. Beat the remaining egg lightly.

9. Brush egg wash around the border.

10. Fold pastry edges up + over the filling in gentle pleats, brushing as you go.

11. Transfer to tray (on the silicone paper). Brush whole tart with remaining egg wash + sprinkle with raw sugar.

12. Chill 1 hour.

13. Bake 180°C (fan) 30–40 minutes — pastry should be blistered, deeply golden + crisp.

14. Sprinkle icing sugar + toasted almonds to serve.

15. serve warm or at room temp.

optional — crustless version

spray a metal tart mould generously, fill with frangipane ¾ full, top with pears + cinnamon, bake 180°C 25–35 mins until set + browned.

Tips + variations

• pears: beurre bosc or packham both work

• swap the fruit → apples, lightly steamed rhubarb, or peaches

• sprinkle raw sugar before baking for caramelised crackle edges

• add orange zest to the frangipane for citrus lift

• pastry folds: chill if dough gets sticky — warm butter = poor flake

• make 2: bake 1 now, freeze extra pastry for a fast tart later

Serving + storage

• serve warm or cooled, dusted in icing sugar

• store in an airtight container in the fridge 3–4 days

• reheat slices briefly in the oven, not microwave (keeps crispness)

• pastry can be made 1–2 days ahead

• pastry freezes up to 3 months (defrost in fridge overnight)

FAQ

Q. Can I use canned pears?

Yes — drain and pat dry so no excess moisture.

Q. Can I make the pastry the day before?

Yes — chill well wrapped. Roll out straight from the fridge.

Q. Why raw sugar on top?

It caramelises into little crisp pockets of flavour at the edges.

Q. Can I make this without a tart tin?

Yes — the freeform shape is the point.

Q. Is this recipe dairy free?

No — it uses real butter.

Pear and Frangipane Tart Gluten Free

A rustic gluten free pastry tart layered with sweet fresh pears + almond frangipane. Simple homemade gluten free pastry, beautiful caramelised edges + so much flavour. This gluten free recipe looks fancy but is genuinely easy

Servings 4

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Ingredients

Gluten Free Rough Puff Pastry

• 250 g butter cold cut into cubes
• 500 g Gluten free Plain flour
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp xanthan gum.
• 6 - 12 tbsp cold water

Frangipane

• 2 ripe pear
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 75 g butter soft
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 2 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup almond meal
• Toasted almond flakes optional
• Icing sugar to serve

Instructions

Gluten free Pastry

• In a bowl combine GF flour, salt and Xanthan gum.
• Add in the vinegar and using a knife mix in just enough water to make a dough. This will depend on your flour and the weather of the day.
• Once combined add the butter and lightly mix through, so the butter retains it’s shape.
• Between 2 sheets of silicone paper roll the pastry into a rectangle about 20cm by 30cm. Shortest side in front of you.
• With the shortest closet to you, fold up to 1/3 of the dough. With the shortest side furthest away, fold over the top of the 1/3 to create a rectangle parcel 1/3 of the original size, now with the long side in front of you.
• Turn the dough so the shortest side is in front of you again. Roll out into a rectangle about 20cm by 30cm.
• Repeat folding and turning for 5 more times. If the dough gets a little warm and sticky, simply chill for 30mins, and then carry on folding and turning.
• When the required number of folding is completed cut in half, cover each portion and chill for 1 hour or until required.

Frangipane

• In the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer, combine butter and caster sugar and mix until light and fluffy and sugar has been dissolved.
• Add the 1 egg and the vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
• Add the almond meal and whiz until fully incorporated.
• Slice the pear in half and remove core and stem. slice finely and evenly.
• Roll out 1 portion of the rough puff pastry (reserving the rest for another time) between 2 sheets of silicone paper until you have a rough circle about 4mm thick.
• In the center of the dough place half of the frangipane mix, leaving 2 – 3cm around the edge clear.
• Top the frangipane mix with the sliced pear, sprinkle with the cinnamon.
• In a bowl lightly whisk the remaining egg. With a pastry brush, brush the whisked egg around the exposed dough.
• Carefully fold the pastry up over the pear and frangipane in a rough pleat, leaving the center exposed and brushing freshly folded pastry with egg wash.
• Once folded up, with silicone paper underneath place onto a baking tray. Do a final egg wash over the whole tart and sprinkle with raw sugar.
• Chill for 1 hour.
• Preheat an oven to 180C.
• Place the baking sheet with the tart on the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until the pastry has browned and blistered and feels firm, but not burnt.
• To serve sprinkle with icing sugar and scatter toasted almonds. Enjoy hot or cold.

Notes

• If you are making this crustless, Place the frangipane in the well oiled tart mold and fill to 3/4. Add the pear onto and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 25 – 35 mins or until the mix is browned and the outer rim has crusted up.
• The remaining rough puff will last in the fridge up to 5 days or you can freeze up to 3 month. Just defrost before rolling out.
• If you don’t have pears, apples or slightly steamed rhubarb would be a great substitute.
• Cider vinegar and xanthan gum help with the pastries elasticity.
• The egg wash helps to brown and seal the pastry.

 

Join Our Email List to receive all our Recipes!

Course: Dessert

Keyword: frangipane, gluten free, pear

If you love this recipe try one of these

A tart Lemon Curd Slice

Gluten Free Sweet Potato & Caramelised Onion Tart with Goats Cheese

Dairy-Free Strawberry & Chocolate Mousse Tart (with Avocado!) – vegan

The Best Gluten Free Salted Caramel Slice

Pin for Later

Did You Make This Recipe?

I’d love to see your version of this Pear Tart!
Tag @thekrookedspoon on Instagram and use #thekrookedspoon so I can share your creation.