Playing Catch up

The gluten free quiche I made nearly a month ago was a delight. I was so surprised by the flakiness of the crust and the fact that the tapioca starch and whatnot that made the gluten free flour was so delicious, rather than overly dense and too powerfully flavored.

Tuesday I was asked to make a vegan pie for work so I made this incredible creation:

This, my friends, is a vegan, gluten free pear frangipane tart.

It is to this day, my favorite creation and I look forward to making many different versions of it in the future. 

Essentially, it is an almond crust with a beautiful almond custard or frangipane topped with tender, sweet barlett or bosc pears. I kinda press the pears into the custard then layer them until they show above the custard, once baked I lightly coat it in Apricot jam. Just enough jam for a finishing glaze. 

The crust is crunchy and nutty, the custard leaves the most wonderful sensation on your tongue and the moist, thick pears create a clean break from the sweet almond. 

Of course, as I am not a vegan, I would totally recommend for those of you less veganly inclined, to top it with handmade whipped cream. It is plenty delicious without it, but man. WHIPPED CREAM!