Did you receive fresh pears as a gift this year? Are you wondering what to do with all those pears? A small-batch and easy puff pastry pear tart recipe for two can be whipped up in a jiffy. Divine cream cheese filling topped with fresh Harry & David Pears is the perfect little indulgence.
An easy and elegant dessert without fuss.
Ingredients Notes
Puff Pastry – Premade and frozen puff pastry from Pepperidge Farms makes this recipe extra easy. You will only need half a sheet for the two tart pans. Making these pear tartlets with puff pastry is a great way to serve an easy and elegant dessert.
Pears – make sure to use a fully ripe pear. One regular size is enough for these two tarts. My Harry and David pears are huge, so I only needed half. The unused pear can be refrigerated and put in a salad or frozen for later use in another tart.
If you don’t have fresh, no worries. You can use canned food; just rinse the pears first.
Cream Cheese – You can use full-fat, reduced-fat, or Neufchâtel cheese. I’ve made quite a few cream cheese fillings and cheesecakes with Neufchatel without any baking issues or taste problems.
Sugar – this is your basic white granulated sugar.
Egg – small batch recipes sometimes only need a partial egg, so for something like the cream cheese filling, I use the white only and the yolk is refrigerated for the morning breakfast.
Vanilla Extract – Use a pure vanilla extract or a vanilla paste.
Cinnamon Sugar – I always have a shaker ready for Cinnamon toast and just sprinkle on a bit before baking. The ratio is 1:1 for the cinnamon and the sugar.
Recipe FAQ’s
The main difference is the fat content. Cream Cheese must contain at least 33% milkfat and not more than 55% moisture. Neufchatel has roughly 23% milk fat and slightly higher moisture content.
Flavor-wise, no real difference to speak of except for Neufchatel has a slightly less rich flavor. Neufchatel and Cream Cheese are both slightly tangy, and spreadable cheeses, and both work great for baking this delightful pear tart. Unless you are a cream cheese connoisseur you can’t tell any difference in the taste.
Tools Used
- 4-inch tart pans with removable bottoms
- Mini whisk
- Small Bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
Recipe Instructions
(The recipe card at the bottom of the post has all the detailed instructions)
One of the things I love about this tartlet recipe is that it’s strictly manual, with no mixer or noise to worry about so I can easily make this at midnight! Sometimes I really want to cook late at night 🙂 Also, the filling mixes up in my small farmhouse cereal bowl
- First, defrost the puff pastry per package instructions.
- Next, lightly coat the tart pans with cooking spray then press the puff pastry lightly into the tart pans. Blind bake the crust per package instructions.
- With a fork poke a few holes in the bottom of the pastry. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes until it’s golden brown.
- While the pastry is baking mix together the filling ingredients. When making two tarts this farmhouse cereal bowl and my small whisk is a perfect size. If the cream cheese is at room temperature the blending is easy.
- When the blind-baked puff pastry comes out of the oven, it will all puff up. Take a fork and poke at it a little bit to deflate.
- Next, divide the filling evenly between the two tart pans. Top with sliced pears and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-18 minutes.
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Pear Cream Cheese Tart
Ingredients
Method
- Thaw the puff pastry per the package instructions.
- Lightly coat two individual tart pans with cooking spray like BakeKlene.
- Roll out the pastry and press into the tat pans. Place the tart pans on a baking sheet and Blind Bake the puff pastry at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes. The pastry will be puffed and golden.
- Remove pastry from the oven. Use a fork and push down the pastry to create space for the filling.
- In a medium bowl mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg white, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Divide the filling evenly between the two tart pans.
- Top with the sliced pears and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
- Place the tart pans on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-18 minutes.