1-First, preheat the oven to 350ºF (180°C). For the tart crust, cream the butter and powdered sugar until smooth, then add the egg and mix until combined but not fully smooth. Mix in 1 cup flour with salt, then add the remaining ¾ cup flour and stir until the dough mostly comes together.

2-Shaping and Chilling the Dough: Turn the dough onto a floured surface and quickly bring it together with minimal handling to keep it tender. Wrap it in plastic and chill for 1 hour up to 2 days. This step helps the dough firm up and makes rolling easier.

3-Roll the dough on a floured surface to fit a tart pan slightly larger than needed. Place it in the pan without stretching, trim the excess, prick the bottom with a fork, and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes or the refrigerator for 1 hour. For blind baking, line the dough with foil or parchment and fill with weights like ceramic pie weights, grains, or flour, then bake for 15 minutes until half baked and lightly golden.

4-Preparing the Almond Cream and Assembly: While the crust bakes, prepare the almond cream by pulsing whole almonds and sugar in a food processor until coarse. Add butter pieces and egg white and process until creamy, then add flour and extracts and pulse to combine. If using almond flour, mix it by hand with sugar, butter, egg white, and flour until creamy.

5-Peel the pears if you like, or leave the skin on for texture and color, and slice them thinly or into wedges. Spread a thin layer of almond cream over the blind-baked crust and arrange the pears on top as you wish. Bake the tart for 20 minutes until the pears soften, the almond cream puffs up, and the crust turns golden. Midway through, sprinkle sliced almonds on top if desired to avoid burning.

6-Finishing Touches: Let the tart cool on a wire rack, remove it from the pan, and dust with powdered sugar before serving.