23 Pear Desserts to Make You Swoon Like a Partridge
If it’s understated elegance you’re after, a pear dessert is bound to impress. Fan sliced pears over nutty frangipane or let them sink into lemony cake batter. Toss the fruit into a wintry, lattice-crusted pear pie or stew it into cinnamon-spiced compote. Any recipe on this list would make an excellent cold weather baking project, special enough for your holiday table.
You’ll find a few different types of pears at the grocery store. The best pears for baking are Bosc pears, which have a sweet, honey-like flavor and hold their shape well when poached. Another great choice is Bartlett pears, which have a buttery texture and juicy sweetness; they tend to fall apart when baked, so they’re our top pick for jam or compote. Crisp, juicy Anjou pears can also be used for baking, but they’re also excellent sliced and eaten raw.
Whatever type of pear you choose, ensure your fruit is ripe before proceeding. To tell if a pear is ripe, press at its neck; the fruit should feel firm yet yield slightly to the pressure.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Bill Clark1/23Pear and Hazelnut Frangipane Tart
Nutty frangipane provides a bed for fanned pears in this simple pear dessert from the pages of Gourmet.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton3/23Rumtopf
This boozy German tipple can be made with a wide assortment of fruits, pears being one of them. Spoon the infused fruit over pound cake or ice cream and enjoy alongside a thimble of the spirit.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Kim4/23Glazed and Beautiful Pear Tart
If you’ve got a couple of hours to hang by the stove, you can make dulce de leche from scratch. If not, the store-bought stuff works just as well.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova5/23Sheet-Pan Cider-Ricotta Pancakes With Pear Compote
A swirl of cinnamon-spiced pear compote runs through these big-batch baking-sheet pancakes, which can be breakfast or dessert (especially if you top a slice with vanilla ice cream).
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks6/23Spiced Hazelnut-Pear Cake With Chocolate Sauce
Set a wintery crown of white-wine-poached pears atop this plush chocolate cake for a showstopping holiday dessert. For maximum wow factor, drizzle the warm chocolate sauce over the cake tableside.
Photo by Sang An7/23Cranberry-Pear Fruit Jellies
Ever wanted to get into candy making? Start with these sparkly, burgundy-hued fruit jellies, made with fresh pears and cranberries.
Photo by Alex Lau8/23Cranberry-Pear Crumble
Ran out of oven space ahead of the holiday meal? This festive dessert can be baked in a toaster oven.
Andrew Purcell, food styling by Carrie Purcell, prop styling by Sarah Cave10/23Pear and Walnut Upside-Down Cake With Whipped Crème Fraîche
Photo by Marcus Nilsson11/23Pear and Almond Tart
With a sweet pastry dough, brandied pear custard, and crisp almond topping, this dessert from Gourmet is guaranteed to impress.
Photo by JP Bevins, Food Styling by Molly Baz12/233-Ingredient Caramel-Pear Galette
You only need prepared pie crust, firm–ripe pears, and caramel sauce to assemble this simple, yet stunning pear dessert.
Photo by Christopher Testani17/23Spiced Pear Upside-Down Cake
You’ve seen pineapple upside-down cake, but what if pears got the same treatment? Spoiler alert: It’s an utter success.
Diana Yen, food and prop styling by Diana Yen19/23Spiced Poached Pears with Crème Fraîche and Amaretto Cookies
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua21/23Easy-Fancy Pear Galette
Don’t want to make pastry from scratch? Use frozen puff pastry to make this easy-fancy pear galette, which relies on canned pears.
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio22/23Chocolate-Almond Pear Tart
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich23/23Boozy Stovetop Pears with Yogurt
This simple pear dessert goes fiery with a boozy amaretto flambée, drawing on the classic bananas Foster technique.
