Using fresh pears and basic pantry staples we can create a perfect dessert from scratch. This easy pear tart is topped with sliced almonds and a refreshing glaze for the ultimate experience.
This buttery tart is a wonderful yet unexpected treat for any table. I love to make it every year with fresh in-season pears and after baking, this tart never lasts long around here. It’s so hard to resist that it’s usually eaten within hours and even the kids ask for an extra slice.
Pear Tart Recipe
This pear tart is unlike any other. While similar to a pie, it’s also incredibly different as well. The crust is nothing like a pie crust and it comes together incredibly quickly too, making it a great recipe for those days when you don’t want to involve yourself with labor-intensive steps.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
There are so many different reasons to enjoy this recipe but here are three reasons why we think you’re going to love it too:
- It’s delicious. The number one reason to make any recipe should be the taste and while this tart is delicious on its own, it’s spectacular when drizzled in caramel and topped with vanilla ice cream!
- It’s versatile. You can whip up this recipe using sliced apples or peaches if desired. This could give you a great fall-flavored dessert too.
- Not just a dessert. Assuming that we have leftovers the following day, this pear tart also makes for a wonderful breakfast recipe too!
Pear Tart Ingredients
For the crust, you will need:
Flour: You will need 1 cup of all-purpose flour for the base of the crust.
Baking powder: Use 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder to get the crust to rise and become puffy as it bakes.
Salt: Adding in 1/4 teaspoon of salt will enhance the flavors in this recipe well.
Butter: To make the crust taste buttery and rich, use 1/2 cup of unsalted butter that is at room temperature.
Sugar: 1/2 cup of granulated sugar will make the tart nice and sweet.
Egg: Use 1 large egg to find the dough together well.
Almond extract: Adding in 1/2 teaspoon of almond-flavored extract will really enhance the flavors in this dish.
For the filling, you will need:
Pears: You will want or need about 3-4 fresh pears. I think that Bosc or Barlett pears work best.
Cinnamon sugar: Use some cinnamon sugar for sprinkling over the tart before baking. this really makes it taste warm and inviting.
For the glaze, you will need:
Jam: You will need 1/2 cup of apricot flavored jam for the glaze.
Lemon juice: Use 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to make the glaze taste fresh.
Almonds: If desired you can sprinkle some almond slices over the top of your tart.
How to Make Easy Pear Tart
Heat oven to 350°F.
Coat a 9- to 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy; beat in the egg and almond extract. {Try not to leave out the almond extract- it adds such a nice, subtle flavor that really adds so much to this dessert!}
Reduce the mixer speed to medium and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until fully incorporated (the dough will be very soft).
Using a small spatula, spread the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. If you are using a tart pan, there’s no need to try and shape the dough at all. It puffs up while baking, so I have a feeling any shaping you’d do would be lost.
Peel, core, and cut each pear into 1 1/2- to 2-inch wedges. An apple slicer makes this process a lot easier- just slice it, then take a paring knife to the slices to remove the skin.
Arrange one ring of pears with the tips pointing toward the center and slightly overlapping them on top of the dough. For the first layer, gently press them into the dough a bit. Try and leave about 1/2″ around the edges for the crust to puff up- it holds the pears in nicely this way.
Top with another ring, working in the opposite direction. Do the best you can- I seem to lose sight of my circles 3/4 of the way around. It still ends up looking great!
Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. I like my cinnamon sugar heavy on the cinnamon. I keep mine in a shaker- it’s super handy!
Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. I like my cinnamon sugar heavy on the cinnamon. I keep mine in a shaker- it’s super handy!
Bake until the crust is golden brown and the pears are tender, 60 to 70 minutes. Check the tart 40-45 minutes in- I always need to lay a piece of foil over the top to slow the browning. Let cool for 1 hour.
Glaze with the jam-lemon juice mixture that’s been heated to combine.
What if I don’t have a tart pan?
If you don’t have a tart pan handy that’s okay! You can simply use a pie plate instead. While I do recommend this Wilton Tart Pan with the removable bottom, you can use any pie pan just as easily. If using a pie plate I do recommend smoothing out the top edges of the pie crust, but that’s just for looks and definitely not an actual requirement.
Enjoy!
Easy Pear Tart
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3-4 Bosc or Barlett pears
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling on top
Glaze:
- 1/4 cup apricot jam
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds for topping
Instructions
Prep
- Heat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9- to 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray and set aside.
Crust
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy; beat in the egg and almond extract. {Try not to leave out the almond extract- it adds such a nice, subtle flavor that really adds so much to this dessert!}
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until fully incorporated (the dough will be very soft).
- Using a small spatula, spread the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.
- IF USING TART PAN--If you are using a tart pan, there's no need to try and shape the dough at all. IF USING PIE PLATE--you might want to attempt to smooth the top edges of your tart. It's certainly not necessary though!
Filling
- Peel, core, and cut each pear into 1 1/2- to 2-inch wedges. An apple slicer makes this process a lot easier- just slice it, then take a paring knife to the slices to remove the skin.
- Arrange one ring of pears with the tips pointing toward the center and slightly overlapping them on top of the dough.
- For the first layer, gently press them into the dough a bit. Try and leave about 1/2" around the edges for the crust to puff up- it holds the pears in nicely this way.
- Top with another ring, working in the opposite direction. Do the best you can- I seem to lose sight of my circles 3/4 of the way around. It still ends up looking great!
Topping
- Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. I like my cinnamon sugar heavy on the cinnamon. I keep mine in a shaker- it’s super handy!
Bake
- Bake until the crust is golden brown and the pears are tender, 60 to 70 minutes. Check the tart 40-45 minutes in- I always need to lay a piece of foil over the top to slow the browning. Let cool for 1 hour.
Add Glaze
- Heat the jam and lemon juice until melted and combined. 30 second intervals in a bowl in the microwave while whisking between each should suffice.
- Drizzle glaze over the top of the tart.
- Let cool before slicing and serving or enjoy warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
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What if I don’t use all 4 pears?
I’ve never used all 4 pears! I usually just use over 2 pears. I could have topped the tart with the remaining slices of pear #3 and it would have still tasted great. Maybe if you use a pie pan instead of a tart pan, the 4th pear will fit?!
Can I use overripe pears?
My pears look a little sad- they’re actually perfect for this tart though! Ripe pears result in sweet, soft fruit on the tart. YUM. While you don’t want pears that turn to mush in your fingers, you can still successfully make this tart using pears that are on the softer side.
More tart recipes to enjoy soon
- MILK TARTS
- SUGAR COOKIE FRUIT TARTS
- FRUIT TART RECIPE
- CHEESY VEGETABLE TARTS
- EASY CARAMEL APPLE TART
- GLAZED STRAWBERRY TART
- MINI FRESH FRUIT TARTS
Use pantry staple ingredients and ripe pears to create this easy pear tart recipe from scratch. You’re going to love the warm cinnamon and sweet pear combination in every buttery crust-filled bite.
Stumpy says
something seems to be wrong with the print function. it only prints the title of the recipe.
tacomama says
I have made this twice now and the amount of batter/dough seems to be much less than what your photo shows. Your batter (before baking) seems to come up quite high in the tart pan and mine is maybe 1/2″ thick. My first one obviously baked way to long. Today I’m trying to bake it only 40 min. Hopefully the pears will still cook as much as they need to. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
Jaime says
i just made this for the first time. my pan seems bigger than the one pictured, so next time I will try it with one and a half recipes. that may work .