This elegant pear custard tart starts with a sweet shortcrust pastry shell filled with fresh, juicy pears enrobed in a simple custard. Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this pear tart recipe!
Sweet, juicy pears are the perfect accompaniment to the creamy custard inside a buttery, crisp tart shell. This tart is one of those things that you take a bite of and find yourself needing another bite two minutes later. I dare you to try to eat just one bite!
If you love a pear that requires a napkin because it's so sweet and juicy then you're going to adore this custard and pear tart. Pears bake into the custard and meld beautifully together and then you pair it against the shortcrust pastry, it's heaven!
Let's get to the recipe
This post was sponsored by USA Pears. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Confessions of a Baking Queen possible.
Ingredients
For the tart you'll need to make two components; the tart shell and the filling. You can use a store-bought tart shell if you'd like but I love homemade!
For the tart shell, I like to use a sweet shortcrust pastry shell- the buttery, crisp shell pairs beautifully with the smooth pears and custard.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. The cream helps bind the crust together.
- Egg Yolk. This egg yolk adds fat, richness, and helps bind the crust.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. The vanilla gives a great depth of flavor to the pastry.
- All-Purpose Flour. Make sure you measure your flour properly, too much or too little can drastically alter the tart. I highly suggest weighing the flour.
- Confectioners Sugar. Using powdered sugar helps create a smooth tart shell.
- Salt. Salt is that little something extra you need.
- Butter. You need cold butter straight out of the fridge. You'll cut a stick of butter into 12 chunks
And for the gorgeous pear custard filling you'll need:
- Large Pears. I like to use D'anjou pears for baking. You can also use Bosc pears. You can learn more about the different types of pears on USA Pears Website. The pears need to be peeled, cored, and thin-medium sliced.
- Granulated Sugar. This will sweeten the custard.
- Large Eggs. The eggs are what help build the structure of the custard.
- Heavy Whipping Cream. The heavy cream gives you that lush, creamy, texture!
- Pure Vanilla Extract. This gives the custard a beautiful flavor.
- Almond Extract. I love almonds and pears together, such a great flavor combo.
- Salt. Salt not only balances out the sweetness but brings out the flavor of all of the other ingredients.
- All-Purpose Flour. This helps thicken the custard as well as stabilize the eggs while cooking to prevent scrambling.
Next time, try my French fruit tart recipe!
Instructions
To start you'll need to make the sweet shortcrust pastry, you can make this a day or two ahead of time. The dough comes together easily in a food processor or you can do it by hand as well. Once the dough has chilled in the fridge then you can roll it out and place it into the tart tin. This recipe calls for an 11.5" X 1" tart pan with a removable bottom.
Once you get it in the tin using a fork to prick it all over and place a piece of parchment paper on top and add pie weights, dried rice, or dried beans to weigh it down. Then place the tart shell in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F and par-bake the tart and set it aside while you prepare the filling. If you want to see step-by-step photos on how to make the crust check out my post on how to make sweet shortcrust pastry.
In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, eggs, cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and flour, mix until evenly combined.
Make sure there are no flour or sugar lumps.
Slice the pears into thin-medium slices.
Place the par-baked tart shell on a baking tray and layer in the pear slices to slightly overlap. Then pour the custard mixture on top, make sure to pour evenly, and any pears that are sticky up gently press them to wet them into the custard mixture.
Bake for 30-37 minutes, the custard should be set and barely wiggle in the middle two inches or so. Let cool on a wire rack for two hours then wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for two hours. Just before serving dust the tart with confectioner's sugar.
This tart is perfectly sweet but not overly sweet. The creamy custard pairs perfectly with the pears. Have a slice with a cup of tea, it is just gorgeous!
Can you freeze
Since this is a custard tart I don't suggest freezing the tart. The custard can sort of separate when it thaws.
More tart recipes
This French lemon cream tart recipe is tangy, creamy deliciousness!
If you love almond flavor then you gotta try my Bakewell Tart recipe!
For a savory spin try my tomato tart, everyone loves it!
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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Pear Custard Tart
This elegant pear custard tart starts with a sweet shortcrust pastry shell filled with sweet, juicy pears enrobed in a simple custard. Step-by-step photos teach you how to bake this pear tart recipe!
- Total Time: 5 hours
- Yield: 10 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Shortcrust Pastry
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Large Egg Yolk
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour/ Plain Flour
- ⅔ cup Powdered/ Icing/ Confectioners Sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 8 Tablespoons Butter, cold & cut into 12 chunks
Pear Custard Filling
- 2 Large Pears, thin-medium sliced
- ½ cup Granulated/ Caster Sugar
- 3 Large Eggs
- 7oz Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ Teaspoon Almond Extract
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
Shortcrust Pastry
- Mix together the egg yolk, heavy cream, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Set that aside. In a large bowl or food processor add the flour, sugar, and salt, process until just combined, about 10 seconds.
- Add the cold butter chunks and pulse on high 10-15 times- you will have a crumbly texture with some chunks of butter. If mixing by hand use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until a coarse meal is formed. Don't over-mix it you want small chunks of butter left.
- Gently stream in the cream/ egg mixture. If using a food processor the dough, will lump up into a ball, turn off, do not over mix. It does not need to be one cohesive ball as soon as you tip it out of the bowl you can gently press the dough together to form one cohesive ball.
- Place tart dough onto a clean surface and pat into a 6 inch round disc. Work quickly, you don't want to spend too much time working with the dough as the warmth of your hands can melt the butter. Wrap the dough disc tightly in plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 4 days.
- Once the dough has chilled for 30 minutes (if it is in the fridge for more than 30 minutes let the dough sit out to soften a bit before rolling out) place it on a lightly floured work surface and use a rolling pin to gently and evenly roll the dough to ⅛" inch thick. Make sure to turn the dough multiple times to ensure an even dough. Gently roll the dough onto the rolling pin and slide the tart tin underneath then roll the dough onto the tart tin.
- Gently use your fingers to press the dough into the mold- if it cracks a little don't worry just press it back together. Use a knife to cut off the excess dough leaving a 1-inch lip around- I like to create a thicker crust by folding that lip over to create an almost double crust. Use a rolling pin to roll on top of the tart tin to remove any excess dough and use a knife to trim any specific areas.
- Use a fork to prick the crust all over then place it in the freezer for 30 minutes or up to two days (if freezing for longer than 30 minutes wrap the tin in plastic wrap). It is important for the dough to be ice cold when it goes into the oven.
- When ready to bake preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Lightly spray a piece of foil with non-stick cooking spray or use a piece of parchment paper and gently press against the tart-greased side down. Fill with dry beans, rice, or pie weights.
- Place the cold tart tin on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes then remove the pie weights and bake for an additional 5 minutes uncovered. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
Pear Custard Filling
- In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, eggs, cream, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and flour, mix until evenly combined.
- Place the par-baked tart shell on a baking tray and layer in the pear slices to slightly overlap. Then pour the custard mixture on top, make sure to pour evenly, and any pears that stick up gently press them to get them into the custard mixture.
- Bake for 30-38 minutes, the custard should be set and barely wiggle in the middle two inches or so. Let cool on a wire rack for one hour then wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Just before serving dust confectioner's sugar on top. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, but tart is best eaten on days 1 and 2.
- Prep Time: 30
- Chill Time: 4 Hours
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Amercan
Keywords: pear tart recipe, baked pear tart, creamy pear tart
Thank you to USA Pears for sponsoring this post and a tremendous thank you to all the readers of this blog for all your support!
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Suzanne says
Oh my gosh, I saw this on Insta and knew I had to make it ASAP.. it did not disappoint!!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Suzanne, thanks for the support! Glad you enjoyed the tart! XX Liz
Chad says
Omg, I’m so glad this recipe exists. I love showing a little love to other fruits in desserts, and this was definitely a show stopper!! My friends loved it! Cheers!
★★★★★
Elizabeth Waterson says
Hi Chad, thank you so much for the glowing review. I am so excited you enjoyed the recipe! Take care. XX Liz