Pears are underrated. Fall is pear season, but right now peaches and pumpkins are getting all of the love. I feel that pears deserve to be in this famous group of fall favorites and once you make this spiced pear tart, you will too.
Let’s get it started…
You don’t need much to bring this beautiful tart together. As long as you have a sheet of puff pastry, 2 or 3 pears and a few common spices, you can whip this up in no time.
Today, I am using bosc pears. They are more firm than the other pear varieties, so they maintain their shape nicely during baking and this is pretty important when you are making a beautiful tart. In addition to the pears, you will need 3 tablespoons of melted butter, 1/8 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of all spice, 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, a little bit of coarse sugar (such as turbinado or demerara) and some puff pastry. I love Wawalka’s puff pastry.
Start by adding 1/8 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of all spice, 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the melted butter. Whisk until it is fully incorporated and then set it aside.
Now cut your pears into long slices that are about 1/4 inch thick. If you have a mandolin, this will be very easy, but it can also be done by hand. Slice from top to bottom and try to maintain the same thickness throughout each slice, which will help them all bake to the same degree in the same amount of time. Depending on how large your pears are, you will need 2 or 3 of them. I start by slicing 2 and have a third one on standby just in case I need more pieces.
Unroll the puff pastry onto a sheet of parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, gently trim a 3/4 inch edge from around the entire sheet. This should give you four 3/4 inch long pieces of puff pastry. Use the trimmings to create a double thick boarder around the entire sheet (photo above). Trim off any excess around the corners and gently press them together to seal.
Brush the surface inside the boarder with some of the butter and spice mixture and then layer the thinly sliced pears in a pretty pattern…
Brush the pears with more of the butter and spice mixture and then sprinkle some coarse sugar over the entire tart.
Bake the tart in a 400 degree oven until the pastry is all puffed up and golden brown. The cook time will vary depending on the type of puff pastry you use. My tart took about 28 minutes to be done, but frozen puff pastry could be done inside of 20 minutes, so just keep an eye on it as it bakes and pull it out when the pastry is golden brown.
Transfer the tart onto a cooling rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing it.
Although whipped cream or vanilla ice cream work, vanilla chantilly cream is the perfect dance partner for this spiced pear tart. It is super easy to whip up too! While the tart is cooling, place 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract into a stand mixer and begin whipping on medium high speed (this can be done with an electric hand mixer as well). Once the cream begins to thicken, add 1/8 cup of confectioners sugar while continuing to whip on medium high. Once soft peaks begin to form, you have chantilly cream. Easy, right?
Slice a big corner off of your gorgeous spiced pear tart and dollop some vanilla chantilly cream on top and “pre-pear” (get it??) yourself to fall in love…
The pastry is so flaky and has soaked up just enough of that butter and spice mixture to make it sweet and spicy, but not soft. The pears however are soft and juicy and baked to perfection. That spice combo over the pears is something that needs to happen more often and the vanilla chantilly cream brings everything together in a glorious way.
One of my friends has been introducing me to some absolutely delicious balsamic glazes and her cinnamon pear balsamic was a knock out over this spiced pear tart. If you have the opportunity to pick up a bottle of cinnamon pear balsamic, I would highly recommend that you do and then drizzle some over the spiced pear tart.
Now don’t you feel that pears deserve to be right in there with peaches and pumpkins during the fall festivities? I know I sure do!
Spiced Pear Tart
Ingredients
Spiced Pear Tart
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
- 2 large bosc pears
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/8 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon all spice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- cinnamon pear balsamic (optional)
Vanilla Chantilly Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and place into a small bowl
- Add 1/8 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon of all spice, 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the melted butter, whisk to combine and set aside
- Slice 2 large bosc pears thinly, cutting from top to bottom (see photos above)
- Roll out a sheet of puff pastry and place onto a sheet of parchment paper
- Cut a 3/4" edge off of all four sides and use the strips that you cut off to create a double thick boarder around the entire rectangle of puff pastry (trim excess off at the corners)
- Brush the interior of the rectangle with the butter and spice mixture
- Layer the pears over the pastry
- Brush the tops of the pears with more of the butter and spice mixture
- Sprinkle with turbinado sugar
- Transfer the parchment paper onto a baking sheet
- Bake on a center rack of a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown
- Transfer the baking sheet onto a heat proof cooling rack and allow the tart to cool for 15 minutes before slicing
- While the tart is cooling, place 1 cup of heavy cream and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract into the bowl of your stand mixer and whip on medium high speed until it becomes very foamy
- Continue whipping on medium high speed and add 3 tablespoons of confectioners
- Whip until soft peaks form
- Slice the tart and top with dollops of vanilla chantilly cream and a drizzle of cinnamon pear balsamic
