This Poached Pear and Ricotta Tart is a simple yet elegant dessert that brings together buttery pastry, creamy ricotta, and tender pears poached in a fragrant spiced syrup.
This is the kind of dessert that requires minimal technique. It’s a very simple tart that’s easily put together but looks impressive and elegant.
It’s not overly sweet, and the flavors complement each other so well, making it a wonderfully light, juicy dessert that’s perfect for fall/winter or whenever you have fresh pears lying around.
It consists of three components: a crumbly crust, a creamy ricotta filling, and juicy poached pears. Making everything from scratch is very easy, but we can all use a few baking shortcuts every once in a while, so using store-bought shortcrust pastry is perfectly fine, too.
If you do decide to go that route, you can put it all together in about 30 minutes, so that’s a plus!
But the crust can also be made up to 3 days before using. Just wrap it well in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge until ready to use. Either way, it’s all very easy. Let’s go over the details.
Shortcrust Pastry
Shortcrust pastry is a very simple type of dough used for pies and tarts, and made with flour, fat, salt, and water.
The fat is rubbed into the flour, followed by the water. Little pockets of fat are formed within the dough and, when baked, the fat will melt away, creating layers of fat and texture. This structure gives a crunchy, flaky, but also sturdy pie crust.
The ratio is usually half fat to flour. In order to get those pockets of fat in the dough, the key is to use cold ingredients (cold liquid and cold fat). Shortcrust pastry can be prepared either by hand or with a food processor; just make sure not to let the dough heat up in the process – cold ingredients ensure a flaky texture.
Choose Your Fat
You can use different types of fat, like butter, lard, and shortening. Butter, my fat of choice, yields a lot of flavor, but it starts melting at room temperature.
During the whole pastry-making process, you’re basically just trying to keep the fats solid and cool. Lard has a higher melting point than butter. At room temperature, it will be more solid than butter, as butter tends to melt more easily when mixing it into the flour.
Because of that, shortening and lard tend to be easier to work with. In general, these three fats can be substituted 1:1 in a recipe, and you can also use combinations of two of the fats.
The Liquid
Mixing only fat and flour won’t yield a good crust. It will not form a proper crust and will crumble apart very easily. So we need to add some sort of liquid – usually cold water, but also heavy cream or even mascarpone cheese – that will bring the dough together and form it into a ball.
You can enrich the dough further by adding extra fats, like egg yolk. The egg proteins also help to form a sturdy structure. So, as long as you choose your fat:flour:liquid ratio properly, you can play around with your options.
It’s important not to overwork the dough, so that there is minimal gluten network formation in a shortcrust pastry. Once the liquid is added, work it just enough for the dough to come together.
For this recipe, we’re blind baking the crust. So you’ll need to weigh it down with something to help it keep its shape during baking – like uncooked rice or dried beans.
Poaching the Pears
Poaching is a gentle, stovetop way of cooking. Winter pears are ideal for poaching because they keep their shape. The longer the pears sit in the spiced syrup after poaching, the better they’ll taste.
Be sure to use firm, ripe pears. You can customize the poaching liquid to taste, adding spices like cinnamon, slices of fresh ginger, vanilla beans, orange, or chai tea.
During cooking, you’ll want to make sure the pears cook evenly and remain submerged in the liquid. After poaching the pears, remove them with a slotted spoon, then cook the liquid over medium-high heat until reduced to a thick and rich syrup. The best way to test if the pears are done is by poking one with a paring knife; if it’s soft, it’s done. Depending on the pear, it can take as little as 10 minutes.
If you make this Poached Pear and Ricotta Tart please be sure to leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you.
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Poached Pear and Ricotta Tart
Ingredients
Equipment: Staub pie dish
Ricotta Filling:
- 3 cups whole-milk ricotta
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Crust:
- 145g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 110g (1 stick / ½ cup) very cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 3 tbsp ice water, plus more by the teaspoon if needed
Poached Pears & Syrup:
- 2 ½ cups water
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 5 firm small-to-medium pears (such as Bosc), peeled with stems left on
Instructions
- Drain the Ricotta: Place a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and line it with cheesecloth or a strong paper towel.
- Spoon the ricotta into the sieve, fold the cloth over the top, and place it in the fridge to drain for 2 to 4 hours – this removes excess whey.
- Make the Crust: In a medium bowl (or the bowl of a food processor), combine the flour and salt.
- Add the cold butter, quickly rubbing it butter into the flour using your fingertips (or pulse in the food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Work fast so the butter doesn't melt.
- Pour in the water and mix just until a soft dough forms. If it feels too dry or crumbly, add more ice water a teaspoon at a time.
- Shape the dough into a thick disk, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to overnight.
- Bake the Crust: Take the dough out of the fridge 15 minutes before rolling. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Dust your work surface with flour. Roll the dough out into a thin round roughly 10 inches in diameter. Gently transfer the dough into an 8-inch tart pan (or pie dish), pressing it into the edges and trimming off any excess. Refrigerate the lined pan for 30 minutes to stop the dough from shrinking in the oven.
- Line the dough with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice.
- Bake with weights for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment paper and weights. Return the empty crust to the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until the entire base is completely dry, crisp, and a deep golden brown. Let the crust cool completely.
- Poach the Pears: Peel the pears, leaving the stems on.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Gently lower the peeled pears into the liquid. Simmer for 10 to 18 minutes, occasionally turning or gently pushing the pears down to ensure they submerge evenly.
- Test with a paring knife; once it slides easily into the thickest part of the pear with no resistance, use a slotted spoon to transfer the pears to a plate to cool.
- Keep the poaching liquid boiling over medium-high heat. Cook it down until it reduces by about half and thickens into a glossy, pourable syrup. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Make the Ricotta Filling: Transfer your drained ricotta into a large mixing bowl. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, whisk the mixture on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes until it becomes exceptionally smooth, light, and fluffy.
- Assemble: Spread the whipped ricotta filling evenly across the bottom of the completely cooled tart crust, smoothing the surface with a spatula.
- Slice about ¼ off one side of a pear and place it flat-side down on a cutting board. Carefully slice the pear lengthwise into ¼-inch slices, stopping just before the stem so the slices stay connected at the top. Using your hands, gently fan the slices out and arrange the pear on top of the ricotta. Repeat with the remaining pears.
- Drizzle about half of the cooled poaching syrup over the top of the pears and ricotta just before serving. Pour the remaining half of the syrup into a small pitcher or bowl to serve on the side, poured over individual slices.
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