This cranberry spiced poached pear tart recipe combines two of my favorite things: spiced poached pears and puff pastry!
In this case, the puff pastry is store bought and it’s topped with vanilla pastry cream and delicate pears poached with cranberries and star anise. It’s then dusted with some toasted almonds slivers and powdered sugar.
It makes for a light, fresh dessert with just the right amount of sweet. And it’s also so pretty!!
Spiced Poached Pear Tart
This recipe is my holiday take on the one created for the 2019 NYT Food Festival by Rachel Gaylord, the pastry chef at La Mercerie in New York. I’ve taken her basic recipe and added some holiday flair by using cranberries in the poaching liquid. This is what creates the eye-catching pink color.
Tips on Making these Spiced Pear Tarts
This recipe is pretty straight forward but here are a few tips to make things easier.
- Puff Pastry: Completely thaw your puff pastry before trying to use. The best way is to defrost it in the refrigerator overnight. You can also thaw it on your kitchen counter but watch it carefully so it doesn’t get too warm. You want to be able to unroll the dough without it cracking but the dough should still be cool to the touch.
- Pastry Cream: The tricky part about making pastry cream is tempering the egg mixture. If you pour your eggs directly into the hot mixture, you’ll end up with pastry cream that looks a bit like scrambled eggs. To prevent this, you’ll want to temper your eggs by adding a bit of the hot liquid into the eggs and whisking vigorously before adding them into the hot mixture. You’ll need to work quickly but it’s simple work. Want more help? Check out this video here.
- Make-Ahead/Storage Tips: This tart is pretty delicate and is best eaten right away. If you’re planning on serving at a dinner party, you can make all the ingredients earlier in the day and then just assemble before serving. You can save leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight but the pastry will loose it’s crispness after a few hours.
These pears are also good enough to eat on their own or over some yogurt for dessert — or breakfast. They are just slightly sweet and spiced from the star anise.
Looking for more tart recipes? Try these easy roasted apple, shallot and blue cheese tarts!
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Cranberry Spiced Poached Pear Tart
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This delicate, seasonal tart is topped with vanilla pastry cream, cranberry spiced poached pears and a dusting of toasted almonds and powdered sugar.
Ingredients
For the Pears:
- 2 semi-ripe Bartlett or Bosc pears, peeled, cut in half and deseeded (you can add more to the poaching liquid but you only need 2 for this recipe)
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 4–6 star anise pods
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups (1 bag) fresh cranberries
For the Crust:
- 1 sheet of store-bought puff pastry, defrosted
- 1 egg, beaten
For the Pastry Cream:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup toasted almond slivers
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Pears:
- Combine 2 cups water with the sugar, vanilla and star anise in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to a shimmer and add the pears. Cover with a lid and reduce to low heat.
- Keep the heat just below a shimmer and cook the pears until just tender, about 20-40 minutes.
- Add the cranberries and cook until berries are soft and splitting, about 3 minutes.
- Remove pears from liquid and let cool completely before slicing into crosswise into 1/2 inch slices.
- Reserve some of the poaching liquid.
For the Crust:
- Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Trim your defrosted puff pastry sheet into a 4.5-inch by 12-inch rectangle.
- Cut two additional 1-inch by 12-inch strips.
- Transfer the dough to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash down the long edge of the pastry dough in thin, 1-inch strips. Then add the pastry dough strips on top.
- Prick the pastry all over and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Brush the puff pastry all over with the egg mixture.
- Then line the center of the dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dry beans or rice.
- Bake for 20 minutes, turning the pan halfway through.
- Remove the weights and parchment paper and bake for 3 more minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely. If the center of the dough has puffed up, you can gently prick it with a fork to release the air.
For the Pastry Cream:
- Combine the milk, vanilla extract and half the sugar in a sauce pan. Bring to a shimmer of medium-low heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and the remaining sugar, and then whisk in the egg yolks.
- Whisking continuously, temper your eggs by adding 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs. Whisk well to combine.
- Now add the egg mixture to the milk mixture and continue to whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Watch carefully — this happens fast!
- Immediately remove from heat and add the butter and whisk until smooth.
- Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (put the plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a film from forming).
- Let cool completely.
To Assemble:
- Transfer the pastry crust to a serving platter.
- Spread 1 1/2 cups of pastry cream in a layer down the center of the pastry crust.
- Place the pear slices onto of the pastry cream. You can add them in alternating directions, if desired.
- Brush the pears lightly with the reserved poaching liquid.
- Just before serving, garnish with toasted almonds and a dusting of powdered sugar.
Notes
- This tart is best eaten immediately after assembling. If you want to make ahead, keep the components separate until ready to serve.