These individual Pear Tarts, made with fresh pears, puff pastry, sweet jam, and warm spices, are so impressive looking, but incredibly easy to make. Enjoy one for breakfast, a light dessert, Sunday brunch, or the holidays. Beautiful on a buffet table, sure to impress your friends and family!
Easy Puff Pastry Pear Tarts
These easy Pear Tarts incorporate puff pastry, fresh fruit, warm spices, a sweet glaze, and topped with nuts. They bake up golden and flaky, light and wonderful.
They’re simply beautiful and impressive looking, but the puff pastry used instead of a traditional shortbread crust, makes this tart recipe so easy to make. No special equipment or skills needed.
These pear tarts are cut into individual servings, which make a delicious treat to serve for breakfast or dessert, and are perfect for a Sunday brunch or the holidays when entertaining.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy pear tart recipe:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Pears – You need fresh ripe pears. I prefer Bosc or Bartlett, but any type of pear works. No need to peel them.
- Lemon juice – Adds a pop of citrus flavor and also helps prevent the fruit from turning brown.
- Sugars – Both a bit of granulated and brown sugar provide sweetness and the best flavor.
- Cinnamon – For a nice warming flavor.
- Salt – To balance out the sweetness.
- Puff pastry – Thawed according to package directions. Once baked, it’s delicate, light, and flaky! (I used Pepperidge Farm brand)
- Egg and milk – Beaten together to make an egg wash so the pastry bakes up nice and golden.
- Fig jam – Provides a wonderful sweet glaze and fig flavor, which compliments pears perfectly. We love our homemade fig jam recipe, but store bought is perfectly fine, too.
- Sliced almonds – Lightly toasted sliced almonds give the tart a nice nutty flavor.
Recipe Variations
This tart recipe is pretty versatile. Here are some other ways to change it up:
- Use a different jam. Apricot jam is wonderful in this recipe, if you don’t like fig jam.
- Swap out the almonds. The sliced almonds can be replaced with chopped pecans or walnuts. Or simply omit if nut allergies are a concern.
- Top with powdered sugar. A simple dusting of powdered sugar is a nice addition for sweetness and visual appeal.
- Try it with apples. The pears can easily be swapped with apples, if preferred. Pink lady or Honeycrisp would be great. Avoid Red Delicious, which are too mushy, and Granny Smith, which are too tart. Apples are a dense fruit, so make sure you’re slicing them thin so they cook properly.
How to Make Pear Tarts with Puff Pastry
It’s so easy to make these pear tarts with puff pastry in just a few steps. Here’s a summary:
(Scroll down to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Coat the pears. Gently toss the sliced pears with lemon juice, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt.
- Prep the puff pastry. Unfold both puff pastry and cut in thirds along the creases, then cut those strips in half, so you have 12 rectangles total, 4 1/4-by-3 inches each. Score each pastry with a sharp knife, about 1/2-inch from the outer edge, all the way around making a rectangle inside the rectangle. Do not cut all the way through. Then using a fork, score the inner rectangle about 6 times.
- Apply egg wash. Whisk together the egg and milk. Brush the edges of each pastry shell with the egg wash.
- Top with spiced pears. Arrange the sliced pears on top of the pastry sheets inside the border, slightly overlapping them on top of each other.
- Bake. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets 2 to 3 inches apart in a preheated 400F oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pears are tender and the puff pastry is puffed up and golden brown.
- Add the jam and almonds. Remove from the oven and brush with the fig jam, then sprinkle with the sliced almonds.
- Let cool and enjoy. Allow to cool completely, then lightly dust with powdered sugar, if desired, and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- I use Pepperidge Farm puff pastry. Each box (1.1 pounds) comes with 2 sheets. Thaw on your countertop for 40 minutes, or in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
- The puff pastry should be thawed, but chilled. The key to achieving flaky puff pastry is making sure it’s thawed but still cold, so you need to work quickly. If you notice it getting warm, just pop it back the fridge for a few minutes.
- Getting uniform pear slices. For fast and uniform pear slices, use a mandolin.
- Pat those pears dry. The pears will release juices as they bake, so make sure to pat the slices dry to minimize moisture on the pastry dough.
- All ovens run differently. Keep an eye on the tarts, they might need more or less time in the oven as directed.
Proper Storage
These are best served within a few hours after brushing with the jam. Leftovers will keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container, but note that the jam will continue to soften the pastry, so they won’t be nearly as crisp. Plus, they’re not as pretty.
More Pear Recipes:
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Easy Puff Pastry Pear Tarts
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 ripe pears , cleaned, thinly sliced (do not peel), and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 17.3 ounce package (2 sheets) puff pastry , thawed but still cold
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon milk
- 1/4 cup fig jam (warmed slightly, just so it's loose enough to brush)
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds , lightly toasted
- powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, gently toss the sliced pears with lemon juice, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Unfold both puff pastry and cut in thirds along the vertical creases (so you’ll have 6 strips), then cut those strips in half, so you have 12 rectangles total, 4 1/4-by-3 inches each.
- Place the rectangles on the baking sheets about 2 to 3 inches apart.
- Score each pastry with a sharp knife, about 1/2-inch from the outer edge, all the way around making a rectangle inside the rectangle – do not cut all the way through. Then using a fork, score the inner rectangle about 6 times to keep it from puffing during cooking.
- Whisk together the egg and milk, then brush the edges of each pastry shell with the egg wash.
- Arrange the sliced pears on top of the pastry sheets inside the border, slightly overlapping them on top of each other.
- Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pears are tender and the puff pastry is puffed up and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and brush with the fig jam, then sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Let cool completely.
- Lightly dust with powdered sugar, serve and enjoy!
