Pear Tarts
An easy recipe for a fancy looking dessert: pear tarts
Ingredients
Poached Pears
- 3 Bosc or Anjou pears
- 1 quart water
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 star anise See notes
Pear Tarts
- 2-3 poached pears
- 1 sheet puff pastry
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Poached Pears
- Peel, core, and quarter 3 pears.
- Add 1 quart of water and 1 cup of sugar to a large saucepan.
- Heat the water and sugar over medium high heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Stir regularly throughout the process.
- Add the star anise. See the notes for other spice suggestions.
- Add the pears to the simple syrup and star anise. Cook until tender but not too mushy. Make sure you check them regularly by piercing them with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife. Mine only took about 15 minutes because they were rather ripe.
- Drain the pears and set them aside. You will need them to be cool enough to handle.
Pear Tarts
- Once the pears are nearly cool enough to touch, thaw one sheet of puff pastry.
- Preheat the oven to 420 degrees.
- Place the thawed pastry on a sheet of parchment paper.
- Roll out the pastry just a bit until you have a rectangle. You don't want it too thin or it won't hold the fruit.
- Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into four rectangles.
- Make a shallow cut in each rectangle about 1/2 inch in on all sides to create a border. DON'T CUT IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH!
- Slice the pears into medium-thin slices. NOTE: You may have some pears left.
- Place the pears in the center of the dough, overlapping.
- Mix up some cinnamon sugar: in a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. You will definitely have some left.
- Make an egg wash by add one large egg to a small cup and beat it with 1 tbsp water.
- Brush the border of the puff pastry with the egg wash.
- Sprinkle each tart with the cinnamon sugar, both the fruit and the egg washed border.
- Carefully transfer the parchment sheet with the tarts to a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake until golden brown and puffy, about 17 minutes. Make sure to check on the tarts as they bake because puff pastry cooks quickly near the end. As always, check by looking through the door, not by opening the oven.
- These are best eaten the day they are made. If you want to save them, wrap them in foil and/or store them in an airtight container.
Notes
I used star anise in my poached pears - because I already had them and because them smell great and I love the taste. You could also use one or two cinnamon sticks, some whole nutmeg, or a few whole cloves.