Joans Pear Tart Recipes

PEAR TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Beat butter, sugar and cinnamon until crumbly. Beat in flour and walnuts. Press onto bottom and up sides of a 9-in. fluted tart pan with a removable bottom coated with cooking spray., For filling, beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Spread into crust. Arrange pears over top. Mix cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over pears., Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°; bake until filling is set, 15-20 minutes. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

FRENCH PEAR TART

Steps:

• Position one oven rack to middle, and move the second rack to the top slot.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a bowl, mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add melted butter and combine to form dough.
• Transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. With your hands press dough down to spread on bottom and onto the rims of the pan.
• Place in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown. When ready remove crust from oven and let sit to cool. Leave oven on.
• Meanwhile, heat the fig preserves in microwave for about 40 seconds. Pour heated fig preserves through a mesh strainer to separate chunks from liquid.
• Now, slice five pears into 1/2-inch slices, discarding core.
• Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a large cast iron skillet. Add pear slices and 1 tbsp water. Cover and cook on medium heat until pears are slightly tender; about 3 minutes.
• Remove pears onto a large platter and let sit to cool.
• Take the remaining three pears and cut them in the same manner.
• Now melt 2 tbsp of butter in previously used cast iron skillet. Add newly-sliced pears, chunks of fig reserves, and salt. Cook on medium heat, covered, for ten minutes; stir occasionally until pears are very tender.
• Take a potato masher and mash the pears and fig reserves into a puree. Let cook for another 5-7 minutes or until pureed mixture reduces and thickens.
• Transfer pear-fig puree onto the now cooled crust; spread evenly.
• Now, take the cooled pear slices and begin to assemble them in layered circles, starting at the outer edges (see photo).
• Place tart on the middle rack of the oven. Bake in 350 degree F-heated oven for 30 minutes.
• Warm up the strained liquid fig preserves for 20 seconds in the microwave.
• When tart is ready, remove from oven and brush surface of the pears evenly with the warmed fig liquid.
• Return to oven and place on the top rack. Broil very briefly; watching carefully until pears gain a nice caramelized look.
• Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 1/2 hours before serving.
• When ready, place the bottom of the tart pan on a wide can of food. Hold the ring part of the pan and carefully slide it downwards (see photo).
• Cut pear fig tart into eight slices and serve. Enjoy!

EASY PEAR TART OR GALETTE RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Line a 10-inch tart pan or pie with your favorite homemade or store-bought pie or tart crust. As you lay the crust into the pan, hold it up and let it drop and settle into any edges or corners, rather than pushing it in, to minimize shrinking and breaking when you bake the tart. Set aside. Alternatively, you can lay the rolled-out crust on a baking sheet for a free-form tart, often called a galette. Lightly prick the crust all over with a fork. Set aside.
• Cut the pears in half or quarters. Cut out and discard the core in each piece. Peel the pear pieces and cut them into even slices. Even slicing will lead to the prettiest and most evenly cooked tart.
• In a large bowl toss the pear slices with 1/3 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice . Arrange the pear slices on the crust-you can just dump them in and spread them out for a very rustic dessert, or arrange them in neat rows or concentric circles for a more elegant presentation. Reserve 4 or 5 slices of pear. Crimp the edges of the crust (see how to crimp a pie crust here if you've never done it before), or roll them up a bit to create an edge if you've decided to go free-form.
• Bake the tart until the crust is brown on the edges and pears are tender, about 50 minutes.
• While the tart bakes, bring the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, reserved pear slices, and 1/3 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook, undisturbed, until the syrup thickens, about 10 minutes. Set it aside.
• While tart cools, brush it generously with the syrup. Serve the tart warm or at room temperature.

JOAN'S PEAR TART

Steps:

• Beat the first 4 ingredients together until well blended and then add the pecans to the mixture and mix well.
• Press into an 11 inch round tart pan (use the one with a removable bottom for best presentation).
• Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla for the filling and pour over the crust.
• Arrange the drained pear halves in a pretty design on top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes and then turn the heat down to 400 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
• Remove side from tart pan to serve.
• Serve warm and if desired garnish with whipped cream.

PEAR AND CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Place the water and lemon juice in a saucepan. Peel the pears, cut them in half and core them. As each is peeled and cored, place it in the saucepan, just covered with water.
• Add one-half cup of the sugar, bring to a simmer and cook gently about 10 minutes, until the pears are just tender. Drain the pears and place them on several thicknesses of paper towel to continue draining.
• Melt the chocolate over hot water or in a microwave oven. Beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time, then beat in the eggs.
• Mix one-third cup of the hazelnuts or almonds with the flour and the remaining sugar and stir into the chocolate mixture.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts or almonds over the bottom of the baked tart shell. Cut each pear half into four thick slices and arrange the slices close together in the tart shell. Spread the chocolate mixture over the pears.
• Bake 30 minutes. Serve warm or cooled to room temperature with whipped cream on the side.

PEAR-BERRY BREAKFAST TARTS

Steps:

• Cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, whisk flour and baking powder; gradually beat into creamed mixture to form a dough. Divide dough in half; shape each into a rectangle. Wrap and refrigerate 1 hour., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine pears and remaining sugar. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved and pears are softened, 6-8 minutes. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into pear mixture. Return to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; cool. Stir in raspberries., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough into a 15x8-in. rectangle. Cut into ten 4x3-in. rectangles. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets; spoon about 2 tablespoons filling over each pastry to within 1/2 in. of edges. Roll remaining dough into a 15x8-in. rectangle; cut into ten 4x3-in. rectangles and place over filling. Press edges with a fork to seal. Whisk egg white and 1 tablespoon milk; brush over pastries. Bake until golden brown and filling is bubbly, 20-25 minutes., Remove from baking sheets to wire racks to cool. For icing, mix confectioners' sugar and enough of remaining milk to reach desired consistency; tint with food coloring if desired. Spread or drizzle on pastries.

ALMOND PEAR TART

Steps:

• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 10-in. circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. , In a large bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar and flour; add pears and toss to coat. Spoon over the crust to within 2 in. of edges. Fold up edges of crust over filling, leaving center uncovered. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. , Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Sprinkle with almonds; bake 5 minutes longer. Using the parchment, slide tart onto a wire rack to cool.