The Ultimate Pear-Fig Tart

Some of the best creations are born not from meticulous planning, but from happy accidents and the urgent needs of friends. This tart is a perfect example. The concept sparked to life during a frantic call from a mate who needed a spectacular dessert, and he needed it now, for a gathering of his rugbymen buddies. As fate would have it, my freezer held the perfect solution: two blind-baked tart shells, slumbering in the cold, each already filled with a layer of almond cream and duo of pear and fig—leftover protagonists from my last filming adventure. But this was no time for ice cream. This called for something more sophisticated, a proper finale for a triumphant Autumn feast. I brought the tarts to life with a glossy layer of roasted pear spread, then crowned them with a billowing cloud of whipped bicolor ganache montée—a elegant swirl of fragrant fig spread and white chocolate. A final, bright flourish of tangy lemon gel, dotted with precision, cut through the richness. The result? A perfect, serendipitous Autumn rendez-vous on a plate.

The Ultimate Pear-Fig Tart

Course: pies, tart

Cuisine: French

Keyword: fig, pear, pies

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 50

Make a day ahead: 0

Servings: people

Calories: 290kcal

Cost: $18

Some of the best creations are born not from meticulous planning, but from happy accidents and the urgent needs of friends…

Equipment

2 Tart ring 8-inch/20cm
2 Baking trays
1 Stand mixer
1 Large skillet
1 Pastry bowl
4 deli containers
1 Immersion blender
1 Digital scale
1 Offset spatula
2 Piping bags
1 Open star piping tip

Ingredients

Tart Shells

2 each Blind baked tart shells Recipe
350 g Almond cream Recipe
200 g Bartlett pears
200 g Figs

Caramelized Pears

1 kg Bartlett pears
30 g Raw sugar
20 g Water or apple juice

Toppings

600 g Ganache montée (Chantilly) Recipe
1 kg Caramelized pears
150 g Fig spread Recipe
50 g Soft lemon jelly (optional) Recipe

Instructions

Preparing Tart Shells

Blind bake sugar dough tart shell for 15 minutes in a fan oven sets at 330ºF/160ºC. Remove pie weights, and let cool to room temperature. Pipe out the room temperature almond cream.

Preparing Fruits

Rinse pears, cut them in half and core. Cut each half into pear into 4 or 6 wedges. Slice figs.
Arrange pears and figs clockwise into the almond cream. Gently press down the fruits.

Baking

Bake at 330ºF/160ºC for 50 minutes. Let cool. At this juncture, the pies can be kept frozen for up to a month for later events.

Caramelized Pears

Set your fan oven at 350ºF180ºC. Meanwhile, sprinkle raw sugar in the room temp skillet. Arrange pear wedges clockwise. Turn the heat on, and cook until sugar begins to smoke. Turn off the heat, and deglaze with water or apple juice.
Pop caramelized pears in the preheated oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Pear Spread

Take out about 200g of the caramelized pears and puree with your immersion blender.
Cover both pies with the pear spread.
Arrange eight of the remaining caramelized pear wedges over each pie (fat ends towards the edges). Keep pies refrigerated.