A minimalist but delicious vegan pear and almond tart with a whole wheat crust and amaretto-spiked pears.
It's late Thanksgiving morning, those special someones are coming over for dinner, and you've been slaving over a delicious vegan meal from the moment you got home yesterday afternoon. Everything looks amazing, but you still want to kick yourself. Because you forgot dessert.
Well maybe you're different, but that often happens to me. I usually leave dessert for the very end in my meal planning because there's always the possibility of making it optional. Or serving up some fresh fruit. All well and good, except, honestly, you simply cannot do that on Thanksgiving.
No, Thanksgiving is the day for stuffing yourself and your guests without any excuses, and even if you've just served up a meal everyone will remember a year after, there is no way you can wriggle out of serving up a slice of pie.
Well, this Pear and Almond Tart is the perfect recipe for a day so special. It's easy as pie to make, looks perfectly elegant, and is incredibly delicious with the warmth of nutmeg-kissed pears in a biscuity, almondy, part whole-wheat crust.
I add some Amaretto, an almond liqueur, to add more almond flavor to this tart, but if you would rather not, use a little almond extract instead. You could also try mixing some slivered almonds in with the filling-- they'd be perfect in here.
Enjoy the recipe, all!
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Vegan Pear and Almond Tart
Ingredients
For the crust
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Ice-cold water
For the filling
- 3 pears , cut into halves, then thinly sliced horizontally (there's no need to peel them-- the skins melt in the mouth when baked)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (use cardamom for a delicious variation)
- 1 tablespoon amaretto (almond liqueur). Use ½ teaspoon almond extract if you'd rather not use the liqueur.
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
Instructions
- Toss the pears and other ingredients together gently (the pears will break easily, so be careful)
- Set aside for 15 minutes
- Mix the two flours, salt and sugar in a bowl and then, using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut in the almond butter and shortening until they are evenly dispersed through the flour. The shortening should be in little pieces, about the size of peas.
- Using a fork to mix the flour, drizzle in the ice cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball.
- Place the dough in plastic wrap, shape into a disk, wrap tightly, and place in the refrigerator for three hours or overnight. You can even make this a few days ahead and freeze it, then thaw it ovenight in the refrigerator. Remember to keep the dough cold at all times.
Assemble the tart
- Take the refrigerated dough and, on a floured surface, roll it into a disc about 12 inches in diameter (most tart pans are 10 inches in diameter, and you want to give another inch or so to cover the sides. When rolling any pie dough keep rotating the dough and flouring the surface and rolling pin to ensure it is not sticking to the surface.
- Fold the disc in half, then lift it into the tart pan. Open it to cover the tart pan. Very gently, with your fingers, push the dough into the corners so that the dough fits evenly into the tart pan. Use a rolling pin to roll over the edges of the tart pan and cut off the excess dough.
- Refrigerate the tart pan with the dough inside for 10 minutes.
- Working quickly, arrange the pear slices in the pan in concentric circles, overlapping them. You can try any design you like, or even go free-form, but this simple design I made is an easy one and doesn't take any time at all. If you have broken pear pieces, put them at the bottom and use the good ones on top.
- Pour any juice at the bottom of the bowl into the tart pan.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake 55-60 minutes in a preheated 375-degree oven. The filling will be mostly set but might appear slightly jiggly in parts, which is okay.
- Cool thoroughly on a rack before serving, which gives the filling time to thicken and solidify.
Anonymous
This saved the day! I didn’t have the Amaretto but it still tasted lovely- not too sweet and teenage vegan loved it more than the usual pear tart tatin
Denise
Hi
Can this be frozen?
Koyal
Thank you, Vaishali for this fabulous recipe. First time I made it for my Son who is vegan and he loved it.
The second time I baked one delicious tart for both our son and daughter- in- law who is allergic to nuts and glutens with following substitutes: gluten-free pastry flour, apple- butter instead of almond butter and cornstarch for all-purpose flour.
Thanks again for the recipes you post on your blog!
Carolyn France
This looks really good. I would need to make the recipe gluten free. Have you tried making it with gluten free ingredients? What modifications would I need to make? Thank you.
Vaishali
Hi Carolyn, just use a gluten-free all purpose flour to make the crust instead of regular all purpose and whole wheat flour. And sub the all purpose flour in the filling with cornstarch. Cheers!
trish
Hey there,
Have tried quite a few of your recipes and LOVE them. Making your beet burgers with the chipotle chili sauce this week. What is almond butter? This tart looks amazing but I'm unsure where to find or how to make almond butter. If you've already answered this question before I apologize. Thanks so much for a great website!
Luminous
"Buttered" or creamed Almond Nuts. We prefer it in our hoysehold to peanut butter. Blissful creative cooking to you and yours love!
nadja
This is one of my favorite pies! I have made it 3 x in the past month. Your recipes haven't disappointed me 🙂 Question, would you know how to substitute eggs in a pie recipe that ask for eggs to make a custard like pie filling? I would like to veganize a recipe for Orange maple walnut pie from the book "Year of Pies : A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies" but I'm new to this, and can't think of what to use instead.
I could type the recipe (if you ever wanted to try something like this) since I can't find it online.
Thanks!
Vaishali
Hi Nadja, You can use tofu as an egg substitute to create a custardy filling. A savory recipe where I did this was this Coriander Quiche:
Glad you like the Pear and Almond Tart. 🙂
nadja
Thank you :]
I've tried many of your recipes, and they haven't disappointed me!
Luminous
My favorites to use are a mixture of : Flax seeds, applesauce, mashed avocados and/ or bananas. Also depending on the purposes in which to utilize. Get creative and most importantly have fun!
Anonymous
could other fruit spreads that say buter be used like apple, pumpkin, or other nuts instead of the almond butter?
Vaishali
No, because fruit butters don't have the fat you need to make this crust flaky. They'd just add moisture.
Luminous
You may utilize any other "nut " butter and try creating in this way though. Such as cashew, peanut or macadamia. Have fun! Get creative, inspire, and Love often.
Namaste.
"Holy Cow" is the best!!!
daisy
This was simply amazing. I am a fan of cardamom, so I used that as well as nutmeg in here, and added some crystallized ginger to the crust. I'm a newbie vegan, and I've been reading your recipes for days, picking out a few at a time to try. Thank you so much! I have also wanted to learn how to cook Indian food and I'm learning so much just from reading here...I can't wait to keep cooking!
Manju
Ohh my! that is such a gorgeous looking tart!
Miri
What a perfect crust and such a beautifully moist filling!
Divya Vikram
That is one elegant and delicious dessert!
Vic Robinson
This looks perfect! 🙂
Vanamala Hebbar
I am not fond of tart ...but urs is lovely...delicious
ANU
wow awesome and perfect tart....
Alpana
Tart looks absolutely amazing & perfect for Thanksgiving.......Thanks for sharing.
Priya
Beautiful looking tart,absolutely divine.
Rashmi
Perfect recipe for Thanksgiving.
Tibik
The tart looks delicious and your directions make this look do-able even for a novice baker like me. Thank you for sharing.
Caitlin
your pear tart looks PERFECT!
A Can-Baje in BIM
My new baking ambition is to make this tart!
Sum
Lovely looking tart! Very neatly done...
Spandana
This Tart looks very delicious.. and lovely pics too.
Thanks for sharing...
Uma
Looks so tempting and delicious. Awesome pics. Uma@Trendy Relish
Gayatri
Okay it's decided. I'm making this for Thanksgiving!!!!
Vaishali
Anonymous, I love writing this blog, and it is great to meet someone who enjoys reading it. Thanks for your kind and thoughtful words. 🙂
Craig Fisher
That tart is simply stunning. A must make
Anonymous
Hi Vaishali,
I've been reading your blog for a while but this is the first time I am leaving a comment. I just wanted to thank you for the simply WONDERFUL job you're doing here. Reading each recipe is a real treat and its so pleasing to see how many ways you've provided for eating a meatless diet. Kudos to you and keep up the good work. I'm really glad I found your blog.