If you love the idea of fruit baked into puff pastry, take a look at another seasonal favourite Apple Turnovers. I love the vibe of an European style bakery, with stylish pastries and decedent cakes. I’m in awe of the craftsmanship, skill and creativity it takes to make anything so beautiful and delicious. It’s the sort of thing I dream of recreating in my own humble kitchen. These elegant Salted Caramel Pear Tarts, with flaky pastry and sweet pear in a stylish package, would not look out of place in the finest bakery. They are so lovely and tasty, no one would ever guess that they are also incredibly easy to make! And you can make them so quickly there is no need to get up at the crack of dawn and get baking!
Pear Tart Recipe
These delectable pear tarts took me a total of 40 minutes to make, and only 10 minutes of hands on time. Take a look in the recipe card for a step-by step video tutorial on how you can do the same. Then you can surprise your friends and family at your Thanksgiving feast with these lovely beauties! This puff pastry dessert is beautiful and delicious despite the simplicity of preparation. I also love that it uses a very ordinary fruit like pear and turns it into a real star! I love pears in season and use them for many bakes. This Spiced Pear Baked Oatmeal is an excellent way to start a day! I’ve used prepared and already rolled puff pastry, which made the whole process pure joy. All you really need to do do is assemble the tarts – kind of like doing a bit of craft, actually.
How to Make Them
This is the least fussy dessert recipe but it tastes divine. Once you know how to fold them, the rest is up to the ingredients to make these tarts irresistible. The secret is to use pre-rolled puff pastry. Not only does this cut out a lot of time and effort, it ensures that the thickness of the pastry is consistent and the tarts bake an even pace. The tarts have an elegant look to them, but no advanced techniques are needed to achieve this for yourself. Start with two L-shaped slits on opposite corners then fold over and you have it. Take a look at the video or photos if you are uncertain. You’ll want to brush the pastry with egg wash to get a lovely golden crisp. Once the pastry is prepared, add the pears, sugar and cream and you are ready to bake.
What Pears to Use
I am not very particular on what variety of pears you use. Anything that happens to be in your fruit basket or local supermarket will do. I used Conference pears simply because they are small and readily available in my area. One thing to mention is to make sure your pears are ripe as the tarts only spend 30 minutes in the oven, which is not long enough for hard pears to cook. They should also be small in size.
Sea Salt Caramel
Now onto the salted caramel topping. It sounds intimidating but in reality is very simple to make for this particular recipe. All you have to do is to sprinkle brown sugar, heavy cream and sea salt over the pears before baking. And they turn into salted caramel in the oven without you doing a thing! Genius. The purpose of salt in caramel is the same as in anything else – it’s there to enhance the flavour and bring out lots of nuance that would otherwise go unnoticed. It adds an extra dimension to the caramel and makes the whole thing pop. This recipe produces a pear tart with a delicate taste. They are not too sweet. I’ve served mine dusted with powdered sugar.
