Fall Apple/Pear Tart For Fiesta Friday #94
I have been a tart making mad woman lately. I feel like I always am elbow deep in dough and honestly, I love it. Making pies and tarts is one of my favorite things to bake. There is something about the flaky buttery pastry crust with some sort of filling whether it be sweet or savory that just feels like home and comfort. I had to make some tarts for an office potluck (sort of early holiday) party and made extra so I could bring to the party. I am bringing an apple and pear tart decorated with fall leaves. I used a different method than making an apple pie for this tart, I wanted it to have a crisp crust and it had to be able to be eaten standing so no juicy piece of apple pie for this event. I blind baked a rectangular tart shell and oven roasted some apples and nicely ripened pears in poire william and brown sugar letting them get nicely soft. The fall leaves were also baked ahead and placed on the tart half way through the baking process. It really turned out nicely.
Thank you to Angie@Fiesta Friday for hosting and our co hosts this week are Judi @ cookingwithauntjuju and Stef @ The Kiwi Fruit. Thanks for hosting and I hope you all enjoy the tart.
Pie Dough
Julia Child makes a 9 inch double crust pie or 2 9 inch tarts
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
6 oz good unsalted butter (I use Irish butter – Kerry Gold very cold
4 tbs shortening cold
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup ice cold water
Place flours and salt in mixing bowl, whisk to combine. Cut in the butter and shortening with pastry cutter so that it resembles course crumbs. Pour in the water and mix just to combine with a fork. Gather the dough and divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and press into a disk shape. Refrigerate at least an hour or overnight.
blind bake tart shell
Blind Bake
Pre heat oven to 400 degree’s.
Roll dough, I like it pretty thin. Cut off a little bit of each disk so you can make the leaves and set aside. Place in the tart pan, prick bottom with fork and place in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Line baking sheet with parchment, place another piece of parchment on the frozen tart and weigh it down with pie weights or beans whatever you use. Bake for 20 minutes watching that it doesn’t brown to deeply. Remove from oven, let cool for about ten minutes and remove the pie weights. Let the tart shell cool on a rack.
With the reserved dough use cookie cutters in the shape of leaves and press out an assortment of leaves at least 1 dozen or more. Place on parchment lined baking sheet, brush with egg wash and place in freezer.
Reduce oven to 375 and bake the leaves for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. let cool on rack.
Apples and Pears
2 apples peeled cut in half and cored
2 pears peeled cut in half and cored
1/3 cup Poire William or pear nectar, apple cider or combination of all or some
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch each of cinnamon and nutmeg
Butter a baking dish and place your pears and apples cut side down, pour in the liquid and sprinkle on the brown sugar. Dot with some butter. Bake for about 40 minutes, the pears and apples should be soft but not mushy.
Drain off the liquid and reserve for later and let the fruit cool to room temperature.
Baking the tart
Place the pears and apples in the tart shell, whisk 1 1/2 tbs of corn starch, or flour, cinnamon and nutmeg with the reserved liquid. Pour over the fruit and place in the 375 degree oven. Bake for 20 minutes and remove from the oven and carefully place the leaves on top of the tart, return to the oven for another 20 minutes or until golden brown.
To finish the tart I heated some apricot preserves and brushed the leaves so they were lovely and shiny.
apuginthekitchen 
Oh Yum! Have a great weekend!
Thanks so much Cheryl, you too!
Your tarts are always so amazingly pretty – and the sound so mouth-wateringly tasty too. I particularly like the oblong shape of this one – I would love to find a tart tin that shape…
Check on Amazon, I got mine from Wiliams Sonoma but Amazon seems to have everything, Thank you so much.
Perfect for fall.. Love the leaves, with the glaze looks tempting
Thank you so much.
Suzanne I like that you’re doing pear recipes. And I just love the little leaves! They are such an elegant touch. I can tell that it is melt-in-your-mouth good! Mega hugs. 🙂 ⭐
Thanks Teagan, the sidewalks are thick with fallen leaves, it inspired me to do the same on the tart.
What a beautiful tart Suzanne! Love the leaves accent on top – really makes your tart special. Happy Fiesta Friday and Happy Weekend 🙂
Thank you so much Judi and thank you for hosting this week.
What a tasty good looking tart Suzanne, I love to a piece . Have a wonderful weekend.
Oops, I would love to have a slice and enjoy it with you.
Thank you would love to sit with you and have a slice of tart and talk!!
Your tart is beautiful!! I love the leaves on top!!!
Me too, the leaves and under the leaves 🙂
Thanks Susan so much.
Wonderful ! Just what I want !
Thank you so much!
Looks gorgeous – as soon as I have 2 hands again, I will try. Just bought the right tart pan.
Thanks Liz what happened to your hands??? Hope you are alright.
How beautiful Suzanne! The fall leaves on top add a really nice touch! I like your rectangle-shaped tart pan. I only have a circular one but now you’ve got me wanting another shape!
I love my rectangular tart pan, hardly ever use the round one now. I am on the lookout for mini rectangular but haven’t seen them. Thank you so much Heather.
So smart to think about blind baking the crust and cooking the filling ahead of time so that people could eat it by hand! Love the leaves, too… so beautiful.
Thank you so much. It made the tart so easy to eat, everyone was able to hold their piece in their hands neatly,
Love making homemade pie/tart crust! Yours looks so amazing. Love the fall leaves – I need to learn how to do that!
I do too Sarah, I love making pie crust. Always keep some in the freezer and make it just about every week. Thank you so much.
This is art! Truly amazing presentation! 🍓
Thank you so much.
Absolutely lovely! Your tart looks too good to eat, although I’m sure it taste’s totally delicious. 🙂
Thanks so much Millie, it was wonderful.
How stunning, a beautiful presentation Suzanne. I liked how you blind baked the crust first, that had to give it a nice crispy texture. I’ve always wondered about pies, and with Thanksgiving just around the corner, I find at times the dough in a pumpkin/apple/pecan pie is not as crispy on the bottom as I’d like it to be. Perhaps blind baking should do it, or just a partial blind bake? I love your fall leaves, gorgeous!
Yes blind bake your pumpkin pie definitely, a double crust apple pie would be trickier because you have to apply the top crust to the bottom and seal and the flaky tender crust unless you do a tart like this one it might be hard. You can do the same for pecan, a partial blind bake works. I almost always partial blind bake pumpkin pie but the others I don’t bother. Thanks so much Loretta.
Suzanne, you are an artist! This tart is a stunning work of art! With blind baking the tart shell and the mouth watering filling, it must be the most scrumptious tart!
It was a really nice tart, thanks so much Sanhya, you are too kind.
Gorgeous looking Tart! 🙂
Thanks Ronit!
Reblogged this on ravenhawks' magazine and commented:
Oh that looks so good!
You are so kind thank you!
Almost looks too pretty to eat- almost…
Thank you so much.
Love the way you’ve decorated this. And also really like your pie filling. Wouldn’t have thought of that. I’m just not creative when it comes to pastry.
Beg to differ Johnny, you are the very definition of creative when it comes to everything. Thank you so much.
Beautiful.
Thank you so much.
Do you keep the fruit whole?
Thank you for catching that, no the fruit is cut in half. I added to the recipe.
I also caught another mistake or omission thanks to you. I added just a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg to the liquid. If you hadn’t caught that I probably wouldn’t have seen that either. Thank you.
I had been craving for apple pie since morning. Have never tried rectangular tarts. This looks so inviting!!
Julia child has great recipes for baked goodies and the pie crust looks perfect !
Her pie crust recipe is the best. Have been using it for years and it never fails me. Thank you so much Sonal!
Where did you buy your rectangular pie pan Suzanne?
Williams Sonoma
Thank you
😄
Hi Suzanne, can you give me the dimentions of your tart pan, looking to buy one just like that, thanks, Cheri love the look of your apple pear tart
Here you go 13 3/4″ x 4 1/2″ x 1″ high.
It’s beautiful, so autumnal 🙂
Thank you Elaine.
Wow this tart looks awesome Suzanne…. love those leaf design on top …perfect for the fall…. 👌👌
Thanks so much Chitra.
Absolutely Delicious Suzanne!!! I can taste it with my morning coffee!!! Cheers friend!! 🙂
You’re so sweet, thank you Amy!!
You are a culinary artist with this tart.
Thank you so much Sharon.
This tart is just beautiful! I love the autumn leaves on top. I bet it tasted as good as it looks, too. I love apples and pears together.
Thank you so much Jenny!!
Nicely? That is the understatement of the year! This tart is just beautiful. Can you believe I have never made a tart? There are so many things that I want to make, but there is only so much time and only 3 meals a day. Well, I may sneak a few more in a day as my jeans can attest!
Thank you Julie I could make pies or tarts every day. I love making them and as long as I can keep them out of my mouth I am fine.
ok this has to be one of the prettiest desserts I have ever seen! Just gorgeous! art
Thanks so much Lynn, so sweet of you.
It is really the prettiest thing I have seen i am making my list of what to make, I will try Sadie’s mom’s deviled eggs, I have made a list and found a new recipe from someone here commenting, a salad, a must try. I need to get motivated and try your tart! honestly lovely! thanksgiving is coming….
I make the same thing every year, there would be a major uprising if I didn’t my family likes things as per usual. I took this tart to the party and have orders to make 2 of them for friends/co workers so I will be making this again twice over. Thank you Lynn.
This is such a beautiful tart and I love the way you decorated it with fall leaves! Too pretty to eat, but of course I would happily eat it if there were a slice in front of me! 🙂
Thanks so much Nancy!
Oh yummy I could totally go for a piece of this right now. Tarts are great and I love they way you have put this one together. Loving the awesome little leafy decorations too. The are so cute! I wouldn’t want to eat them 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us at Fiesta Friday. Have a great weekend 🙂
Thank you for hosting FF this week and thank you also for the kind comment. You have a great weekend also!
Simply perfect!
Thanks Michelle!!
BTW, I made your delicious Fall Harvest Salad. http://rockinredblog.com/2015/11/14/celebrate-thanksgiving-lodi-style/
Thanks so much Michelle, just read your post and thank you for making the salad and the wine sounds just perfect.
The perfect tart for the fall, Suzanne. Amazing! 🙂
Thank you so much Linda
This sounds like a wonderful technique…your tart is so beautiful.
Thank you so much Karen.
If I lean back, close my eyes and just drift I can imagine those are on my kitchen table right now….ughhh and then reality sets in and they are not. They are tarts to dream about…
Thank you so much!
Suzanne, apple and pear are my favourite fruits. Every year when the harvest time, we can get lots delicious apple or pears from our friend’s garden. This is absolutely came in the right time. I love all the little details on top of the pie, so cute! Thanks! 🙂
Me too Mochi, how lucky you are to have a friend with both in their garden. There is nothing like getting them fresh from the tree. Thank you so much.
Suzanne, what a beautiful tart. I bet is tastes heavenly!
Love the idea of cutting out fall leaves as decoration, beautiful!
Love this- it’s gorgeous!
You’ve outdone yourself, those leaves are too cute!
Thank you so much!!
I started drooling reading your narrative. Tart making mad woman sure makes gorgeous tarts! I am speechless as to how beautiful your tart is, and am certain that it tastes heavenly!
Thanks Fae, I have been making pie dough and tarts weekly. I love doing it. This one turned out so nicely,
The most perfect tart for Fall/Autumn Suzanne! Love it… and would definitely love a little slice!
Thanks so much Margot, it is the quintessential fall/autumn tart with the fallen leaves and apples and pears.
Wow! This is an absolute stunner! Did it break your heart to cut into it and then eat it? Perhaps only for a minute or so? Kudos on this work of art…that I am sure is as delicious as it looks!
Kind of did, yes it was so pretty to look at but the person who cut it into little squares put a leaf on every square. It was really pretty. Thanks Serena.
I think this is one of the most beautiful tarts I’ve ever seen Suzanne!! You are an artist!!
Thanks but it really was easy to do, thank goodness for the cookie cutters in the shape of leaves. LOL, thank you again.
This is soooo pretty! Wow! Needless to say it also sounds delicious 🙂
Thanks so much Petra!!
That is one of the prettiest tarts I have ever seen, Suzanne! I love the leaves on the top. What a great idea, pairing apples and pears. Just stunning!
That’s so sweet thank you so much!
Ooh, gasp!! LOVE!!
Thank you Angie!!
Swoon! If it tastes a fraction as good as it is stunning, it must be amazing. You have a gift! Love the rectangular shape and leaf detail. Happy FF and Thanksgviing.
Thank you so much Johanne, it’s actually very easy to make a little detail work but easy and it is very fall like and really quite delicious. Thank you again.
I had to smile = “…turned out nicely.” you say! It is absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to make it! Wonderful FF post!
Thank you so much you are so kind.
What a beautiful festive Seasonal tart! Waw, I am so impressed!
Another must make, really soon! yummmmm.
Thank you so much it really is good I am making it again for Thanksgiving!!
I bet!
What a beautiful pie! It looks stunning, perfect for this time of the year. I’ll have to give this a try, probably using apples, as we have tons of them!
All apples are good as well honestly when cooked you wouldn’t know and apples are wonderful!! Thank you so much.
There’s something about pears, though – I always find they’re just a tad more elegant than apples … 😉
I agree and adore pears!!
Beautiful! My uncle has pears growing in his yard, and we have a fridge full of apples from lots of apple-picking, I hope to try this soon 🙂
How wonderful, so you get pears fresh from the tree. Very lucky!! Thank you so much. I am so pleased with how this tart turned out. Thanks you again.
Wow Suzanne– I had to scroll down forever to get to the bottom here to comment!! This must be the most popular post! It looks so sweet and homey– perfect for this week. I made a chocolate tart today from Bon Apetit sight and it was too salty!! ugh. I’m sure yours was much better!!
This is so pretty! Perfect for fall 🙂
Thanks so much Stephanie!