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With the holidays upon us, I decided to challenge myself to baking something different. I was looking through the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated and I came across a beautiful French apple tart. The apple slices arranged in the shape of a beautiful blooming flour. At first glance, I thought to myself, this looks complicated. A few hours later, I was looking in my fridge when my large bag of pears stared back at me demanding action. I decided that I’ll just go ahead and try my hands at a pear tart.
And while I’m at it, I could use some of my good fig preserves! I’d like to think of my pear tart as the yummier cousin of the Cook’s Illustrated apple tart. But I did end up using their no-fuss pie crust with some modification. Trust me, friends, you’ll want to know how to make this easy no-fuss crust, it will change your baking life! So I did make my French pear tart recipe. Absolute perfection in both presentation and taste!
Pour heated fig preserves through a mesh strainer to separate chunks from liquid. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a large cast iron skillet. Add pear slices and 1 tablespoon water. Remove pears onto a large platter and let sit to cool. Take the remaining three pears and cut them in the same manner. Now melt 2 tablespoon of butter in previously used cast iron skillet. Add newly-sliced pears, chunks of fig reserves, and salt.
Take a potato masher and mash the pears and fig reserves into a puree. Let cook for another 5-7 minutes or until pureed mixture reduces and thickens. Now, take the cooled pear slices and begin to assemble them in layered circles, starting at the outer edges. Place tart on the middle rack of the oven. Bake in 350 degree F-heated oven for 30 minutes. Warm up the strained liquid fig preserves for 20 seconds in the microwave.