Piquenchagne or le Poirat

Pear pie is a speciality of both the Bourbonnais, where it is called ‘piquenchagne’, and of Berry where the same pie becomes ‘le poirat’. However, le poirat is always made with pears, whereas piquenchagne may contain quinces or apples in a yeast dough. The pastry in this particular recipe is based on walnuts, but ground toasted hazelnuts or ground almonds can be used instead.