This pear tart recipe uses fresh pears and a few pantry staples to make a sweet, fruity, deliciously simple dessert completely from scratch. A simple, frugal, tasty way to use up some pears when they’re abundant and in season!
Guest Post by Tara
Table of Contents
Easy Pear Tart With Fresh Pears
While I typically prefer eating seconds of the main dish instead of saving room for dessert, sometimes I need something sweet. That’s usually when I call on my husband. Truthfully, he’s the real baker in the family. I do the cooking. He does the baking. Yes, I married a good one:)
He spent some time in culinary school and worked for a large baking and catering company in town. When we were dating, he had me hook, line, and sinker when I tried his homemade cheesecake.
Oh wow! So good. I’m not saying that’s why I married him, but it sure didn’t hurt knowing he knew his way around a kitchen!
But this week, I decided to turn the tables a bit and do some baking by making this simple (but delicious) pear tart.
Simple Desserts Are Best
Dessert recipes can’t be complicated if I’m the one making them. Truthfully, simple cooking is my style, whether it involves sweets or not. I like to use familiar ingredients with only a few steps that still produce tasty results.
This pear tart recipe is one such simple dessert that starts with a buttery short dough crust that can be made in the food processor or by hand. The dough is soft and easy to work with when pressing it out in the cute little tart pan.
Then, you simply arrange peeled and sliced fresh pears in a pretty fan pattern.
Finally, you sprinkle the buttery sugar topping on top let it sink into the pears, and make a shimmering sweet sauce as it bakes. Simple and delicious.
Oh my gosh, where has this recipe been all my life!!!! Gone before the end of the day and so easy to make! I did make the crust in my food processer, came out lovely!!!
Luanne, Little House Living reader
Ingredients in the Pear Tart Recipe
- All-purpose Flour. Any good flour will do in this recipe. You can also use gluten-free flour if you want to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Salt and Sugar. This will help to improve the flavor of your tart crust.
- Butter. Don’t add salt if using salted butter. You can also replace the butter with shortening if you are dairy-free.
- Egg. This will help bind your tart crust together and can’t be left out.
- Cold Water. You might need a little more than what is called for if your crust is too dry.
- Pears. The main star! Make sure they are ripe and not mushy.
Such and elegant and delicious dessert. My daughter made this for Christmas Eve dessert, and everyone loved it! Hoping it becomes a Christmas Eve tradition, although seriously, we simply must enjoy this more than once a year.
Suzanne, Little House Living reader
How to Make a Pear Tart Step By Step
For the crust: Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in butter and then mix in the egg yolk and water. It should be a stiff but workable dough ball.
Roll the dough with your hands or with a rolling pin out to about 9 inches on a floured surface or a piece of parchment paper and place in a tart pan or a pie pan if you don’t have a tart pan.
Press dough evenly up the sides of the tart pan with your fingertips. Chill dough in the freezer while slicing the pears.
For the filling:Peel and slice pears. Remove the crust from the freezer and arrange the pears in an overlapping fan pattern. Mix the remaining flour, sugar, and butter in a small bowl.
Cover the pears with the flour-sugar-butter mixture by crumbling it overtop. (You may not use all of the filling). You could also top it with sliced almonds if you prefer.
Bake in the oven at 400ºF in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly and shiny. You may want to put a baking sheet under the tart while it’s baking to prevent the filling from bubbling into your oven.
Let the pear tart cool in the tart pan on a wire rack until fully cooled before cutting into it.
Easy and light. I added some Almond Liquor to the crumble for a little extra “something, something” and some fresh whipped cream. Great recipe for when you have too many pears in October! Thank you.
Mary Jo, Little House Living reader
Toppings for the Pear Tart
For an extra special touch, top this Pear Tart with a dollop of homemade Whipped Cream.
A large scoop of vanilla ice cream is always a great topping, especially in the summer.
You could also make a drizzle or glaze to make it a little sweeter. Mix milk (or an alternative) with some powdered sugar and some vanilla extract. Drizzle over the top when it’s finished cooling.
If you have some extra pears right now, try this Pear Tart Recipe! It’s so delicious and so simple.
I made it yesterday exactly as described. Was absolutely delicious! LOVE the crust! I think I’ll try this crust for a pie next.
Yvonne, Little House Living reader
Thank you for this recipe!!
More Fresh Pear Recipes
Do you have an abundance of pears right now? Here are some more pear dessert recipes to try!
- Pear Cookies
- Pear Chips with Cinnamon
- Upside Down Pear Walnut Cake
- Granny’s Fresh Pear Cake
- Peach Pear Frozen Yogurt
What are some of your favorite pear dessert recipes?
Ways to Preserve Pears
Or preserve your pears with the following recipes:
- Home-Canned Pears
- Dehydrated Pears
- Pear Sauce
Need to print this Pear Tart recipe? Grab it below!
4.77 from 21 votes
Simple Pear Tart Recipe With Fresh Pears Recipe
This pear tart recipe uses fresh pears and a few pantry staples to make a sweet, fruity, deliciously simple dessert completely from scratch.
CourseDessert
CuisineAmerican
Keywordpear tart recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½cupsflour
- ¼tspsalt
- 2tbspsugar
- ½cupbutter
- 1egg yolk
- 2tbspcold water(or more if needed)
Filling
- 3pears
- 2tablespoonsbutter
- 2tablespoonsflour
- 3/4cupsugar
Instructions
For the Crust
Mix together the dry ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter and then mix in the egg yolk and water. It should be a stiff but workable dough ball.
Roll out to about 9 inches and place in tart pan. Press dough evenly up the sides of the tart pan with your fingertips. Chill dough in the freezer while slicing the pears.
For the Filling
Peel and slice pears. Remove crust from freezer and arrange pears in an overlapping fan pattern. Mix remaining flour, sugar and butter in a small bowl.
Cover the pears with the flour-sugar-butter mixture by crumbling it overtop. (You may not use all of the filling). Bake at 400ºF for approximately 35 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly and shiny.
Nutrition Facts
Simple Pear Tart Recipe With Fresh Pears Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 348Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 62mg21%
Sodium 189mg8%
Potassium 112mg3%
Carbohydrates 51g17%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 28g31%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 491IU10%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 17mg2%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Very good recipe. I used King Arthur’s gluten-free measure-for-measure flour with great results. I did have to bake it a bit longer, but I think my oven runs a bit cool, so it could’ve been due to that. Did not take long to make, and within 24 hours it’s almost all been eaten!
Jonah, Little House Living reader
Storing Leftover Pear Tart
Cover any leftover Pear Tart with plastic wrap or a beeswax wrap and store in the fridge until you are ready to enjoy again. This tart should last up to 4 days in the fridge.
Common Questions About Baking With Pears
What are the best pears for tarts?
Any ripe pear will work well for tarts. Since these are simple recipes, a good pear with strong flavor will work the best.
What can I do with a surplus of pears?
If you are tired of making pear recipes, you can make pearsauce. You’ll make it the same way you make applesauce. It’s a delicious alternative that uses a large amount of pears.
Do pears have to be ripe to bake?
If the pears you are using are not ripe, they will be hard to cut and have very little flavor when baked. Ripe pears will be the best flavor and texture.
What are your favorite pear recipes? How else do you use fresh pears? Add to the list in the comments section below!
Tara is a stay at home mom of two children, a wife, and a follower of Jesus. Her passions lie in teaching others about real food, non-toxic living, and all things homemade, while challenging the idea of the “picture perfect” mother.
This Simple Pear Tart Recipe was originally published on Little House Living in August 2014. It has been updated as of October 2023.
