This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission.
These incredible puff pastry pear tarts coated with salted caramel take less than an hour to make and look like they came out of a patisserie shop. They make a delicious autumnal dessert that will wow your friends and family!
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 store-bought 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 sliced 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 simple pear tart with a delicate taste. They are not too sweet. I’ve served mine dusted with powdered sugar.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Choose all butter puff pastry to get the flakiest texture and best flavour.
- Because the tarts don’t spend a lot of time baking, make sure to use ripe pears or they may not cook all the way through.
- You want to take the puff pastry out early enough that isn’t too cold when you try to roll it out. If it is too cold, cracks will develop as it unrolls. However, butter will melt into other layers if it is left out for too long, preventing you from getting the best results and making it harder to work with. Taking it out 20 minutes before use is likely best. If it is left out for too long, simply place it back in your fridge for 30 minutes.
Storage and leftovers
These tarts are going to be at their best soon after coming from the oven. The puff pastry will loose its crispness when stored.
That said, they will easily last a day. So if you want to make them a day ahead, it’s not a problem! 2-3 days will be the limit as the puff pastry will start to become noticeably soggy.
Avoid storing in plastic wrap as this will trap moisture around the tarts. A better storage solution is to keep in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container, with a piece of parchment paper loosely added to keep the tarts apart.
More easy puff pastry dessert recipes
Salted Caramel Pear Tarts
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Knife
- This is an affiliate link.Baking sheet
- This is an affiliate link.Baking sheet
Ingredients
- 375g / 13oz all butter puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten
- 4 ripe pears, small or medium
- 8 tsp Demerara (brown) sugar
- 8 tsp double/heavy cream, no half and half
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out your puff pastry. If you are using a block, dust your work surface with some flour and roll out a rectangle 1/4″ thick. Divide your rectangular shaped puff pastry into 8 small rectangles. With a sharp knife, cut an “L” into 2 opposing corners, don’t cut all the way but leave a ½-inch in two corners. Brush with the beaten egg. Pick up the cut corners of the pastry, cross them over each other (one over, one under) and lay them flat (now on opposite sides). Brush the tops of the pastry with the egg wash and put the prepared pastries in the refrigerator to chill.
- While the pastry is chilling, prepare the pear filling. Peel the pears and split them in half lengthwise, core them, and slice in 1/4″ slices.
- Take the pastry shells out of the fridge and set them on your work surface, place one pear half in the centre of each tart. Then sprinkle with a teaspoon of brown sugar and a teaspoon/5ml of double cream per tart, then add a pinch sea salt on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until pears are soft and pastry is golden.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made the pear/puff pastry and it was excellent! I couldn’t stop eating them. I had some extra pastry dough but no pears….so I used blueberries instead and that was absolutely delicious too!
Thanks.
Delicious recipe. I used tinned pear halves – saves a lot of faff (and time!)
I just made them and they were so delicious. I didn’t see the pictures on how to assemble so they got a little speed out. I think next time they will come out so much better and I will try mixing the cream and the sugar together before I add it to the pastry. It leaked out.
So happy you liked them, Nicole. There is also a video attached if you need a visual guide on how to assemble them!
Thank you! I used Asian pears from my parent’s tree. They’re baking in the oven now and I will be taking them some to enjoy!
Thank you Julia for this beautiful and very delicious recipe!!! Marty (Mr. Picky) even loves them!!!
I made these because my Romanian friend sweetly gave me two of her huge pears from her tree. They turned out to be not as ripe as I had hoped so I put them into the microwave. Because of a prior comment, I added a little extra brown sugar. The pears were large so I didn’t slice them vertically but horizontally.
So delicious—can’t wait to share with my friend!!!!
I am so happy to read this, Cecilia!! It’s a great to have a friend, who brings you fresh fruit!! 🙂
What a stunning dessert. Do you think I could a large and freeze them?
You can freeze puff pastry tarts but sometimes that affects the quality/crispiness.
Have been lusting for these babies ever since I scanned sites for something wonderful to create with these small SWEET farmers mkt pears. Sad to say, the puff pastry I had has been through a few freeze-thaw cycles and was kinda mushy .I rolled it out as best I could but the flap business wouldn’t comply…so i ended up just pinching it up a bit like a pie crust. Won’t be as aesthetically pleasing, but they ARE rising nicely in the oven. Thanks from NH and it’s succulent fall pears!
I hope you enjoyed them, Steve!
I just made these for dessert with friends and they came out beautifully. I love the subtle sweetness. I shared the tester with my husband, and we ate it with clotted cream. It was amazing!
I am so happy to hear that, Sherry!! It’s one of my favourite recipes!
This was a great recipe, and was simple enough for my 7 year old daughter to make with me. Just a couple of comments – we used Bosc pears but found them still quite hard when serving. Next time, we might either cook the pears for a while before putting on the pastry, or even poach them a little first. We also found the caramel topping a bit lacking, almost non-existent with the quantities used. Next time, we’ll probably double the amounts, but we’ll definitely be making it again!
Hi Alan, I am really glad to hear that the recipe is easy enough to make with a 7 year old. To reply to your comments…success of any recipe with fruit depends on the ripeness of the fruit, so it’s important to evaluate it before proceeding with the recipe and decide whether it needs precooking. It sounds like yours did but the next time it might not. The recipe is only a guideline, so use your best judgment on how to proceed. The caramel topping is used in a very subtle, more European way. If you double the quantities, it would affect the pastry from becoming crispy. So I would recommend adding extra caramel once the tarts are baked.
These pear tarts look lovely, and I really want to make them this week-end, but I’m confused about the cutting directions. It looks like you cut all around the square. Do you leave the 1/2″ uncut around the opposing corners? Also, in some photos, it looks like you have two separate pieces of pastry-the flat and the “frame” on top of it. ??? If you could help me out , I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
Vicky
Vicky, the photos are shown in stages. First the pastry squares are flat and you create frames by cutting 2 “Ls” in opposite corners but not all the way, then you pick up the cut corners and overlap them. I hope it’s helpful.
These are wonderful! I just featured them on my blog, The Hungry Lovers, as one of 4 fabulous fall desserts. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you for the feature, Angela!
These looked so good I had to make them. However I am kind of embarrassed to say this but I thought I had pears but they had gone bad overnight. I had already prepared the puff pastry so was at a lost at what to do. I opened the refrigerator and there was some prepared pears in a snack cup, so I figured what he heck, I have to say I added some walnuts and instead of cream I only had half and half so after egg washing the dough I cinnamon and sugared it then added the cubed pears and walnuts along with the brown sugar and half and half baked them off and they were fabulous! Thanks for the inspiration.
Kimberly, I am so pleased you loved the recipe. Your way of cooking sounds like mine. I substitute A LOT!
Julia, these are so pretty! Thank you for a detailed photo tutorial. Pinned!
These look wonderful! Your photography is lovely.
Thank you so much, Jen! It means a lot coming from you! 🙂
they look delish!
They taste amazing too. 🙂
YUM! These look amazing – salted caramel and pear is such a great combination, I could demolish these.
Hahaha, yep they were sufficiently demolished here in one day!