Pear Galette
You’ll love the rustic charm of my French Pear Galette. Learn how to create this delicious dessert with a flaky, buttery crust and spiced, sweet pears.
Originating in the French countryside, galettes are simply a one crust, freeform pie with a fruit filling. The edges of the crust are folded partway over the top of the filling before baking.
These freeform tarts are just as beautiful as they are delicious. My Pear Galette recipe, with its delicious spiced pear filling, is very versatile. It can be served as a beautiful ending to a dinner party or as a treat with a cup of coffee in the afternoon.
Plus, the rustic nature of a galette means you don’t need to worry about a perfect pie crust!
Recipe Snapshot
Cuisine: American
Cooking Method: Oven
Total Time: 3 Hours, 30 Minutes (includes 2 Hours Chilling Time)
Servings: 8
Primary Ingredient(s): Pears, Sugar, Spices, Flour, Butter
Skill Level: Intermediate
What You’ll Like About This Recipe
- Buttery, flaky pie crust and sweet, spiced pears make a beautiful combination of flavors.
- It’s very adaptable — you can easily swap out the pears for apples during the fall season or peaches during summer.
- Even though it’s rustic, it’s quite stunning visually.
- If you don’t want to make a crust from scratch, you can always use a purchased one.
Ingredient Notes
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- All-purpose flour — I always recommend White Lily flour for any baking recipe. It’s a Southern flour that gives a tender texture to any baked goods.
- Salted butter — Can’t make pie crust without butter, right? If you only have unsalted butter on hand, just add a pinch of salt to the pie crust dough.
- Pears — Choose ripe, firm pears such as Anjou, Bosc or Bartlett.
- Brown sugar — A touch of brown sugar adds a hint of caramel to the filling.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger — These warm spices are typical in fall baking and go perfectly with the pears.
- Apricot preserves — You’ll see apricot preserves in many French dessert recipes often used as a barrier between fruit and dough.
- Honey — I brush a little honey on after baking for a glossy finish to the top of the galette.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Pear Galette
- In a food processor, combine cold flour, cold butter, sugar, and salt. Pulse several times until the mixture is crumbly.
- With the food processor running, slowly stream in the water until the mixture starts to come together.
- Remove the dough from the processor and shape it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours before proceeding.
PRO TIP: When making pie crust, it’s important to have the ingredients as cold as possible. This is why I recommend placing the flour in the fridge or freezer for a while before you start.
PRO TIP: If pastry making isn’t your thing, you can always skip this step and use a refrigerated pie crust instead.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the pear slices, flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, nutmeg, salt, cloves, and ginger.
- Mix until the pears are well coated. Mix gently. Set aside.
PRO TIP: Take care when mixing not to break the pear slices any more than necessary.
- Near the end of the dough chilling time, preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper large enough to hold the rolled out dough
- Turn out the chilled dough onto the lightly floured parchment paper and dust the top with a little flour.
- Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rough circle approximately 14” across and 1/8 inch thick.
- Spread the preserves evenly onto the rolled out dough, leaving a 2-inch border around the outside edge.
- Add the pear mixture on top of the preserves in an even layer.
- Fold the edges of the dough in over the pear filling.
- Lift the galette using the parchment to transfer it to a baking sheet.
- Transfer the baking sheet with the galette and parchment into the preheated oven.
- Bake on the center oven rack for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 375 F and continue baking for an additional 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove the galette from the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack. Brush the entire top with honey.
- Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Slice into eight triangles and dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Troubleshooting Tips
- To prevent the crust from browning too quickly, cover the edges with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking.
- If the dough cracks while rolling, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes and try again. Any cracks around the edge only add to the rustic look of this tart.
- A tough crust usually results from overworking the dough or adding too much water. Handle the dough as little as possible and add just enough water to bring the dough together.
Recipe Variations
- Swap the pears for thinly sliced baking apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp.
- Sprinkle a few chopped walnuts or almonds over the pear filling.
- Mix the honey with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg before brushing it over the baked galette.
How to Serve
I typically serve pear galette slightly warm, with a generous dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on the side. It’s also really good with a drizzle of caramel sauce.
How I Store the Leftovers
Place any leftovers in an airtight container or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. They’ll keep at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, warm the galette in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes. The cooked, cooled galette can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Enclose it tightly in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, before freezing. Let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
More Recipes You’ll Like
Questions About Pear Galette
Yes, you can. The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
Besides pears, you can use apricots, apples, peaches, or plums. Just adjust the spices accordingly to complement the fruit.
The galette is ready when the crust is golden brown and the filling is slightly bubbly. The pears should be tender but not mushy.
Questions? I’m happy to help!
If you have more questions about the recipe, or if you’ve made it and would like to leave a comment, scroll down to leave your thoughts, questions, and/or rating!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Recipe
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Pear Galette
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 ⅔ cups cold all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup cold salted butter cubed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons water (may need one additional tablespoon of water)
For the filling:
- 3 pears peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 2 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoons ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon apricot preserves
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In a food processor, combine cold flour, cold butter, sugar, and salt. Pulse several times until the mixture is crumbly.1 ⅔ cups cold all purpose flour, ⅔ cup cold salted butter, 1 tablespoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
- With the food processor running, slowly stream in the water until the mixture start to come together.4 tablespoons water
- Remove the dough from the processor and shape it into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill at least 2 hours before proceeding.
Make the Filling
- In a large mixing bowl combine the pears, flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, nutmeg, salt, cloves, and ginger.3 pears, 2 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour, 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoons ground cloves, ¼ teaspoons ground ginger
- Mix until the pears are well coated. Mix gently taking care not to break the pears any more than necessary. Set aside.
Assemble and Bake the Galette
- Near the end of the dough chilling time, preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper large enough to hold the rolled out dough
- Turn out the chilled dough onto the lightly floured parchment paper and dust the top with a little flour.
- Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rough circle approximately 14” across and 1/8-inch thick.
- Spread the preserves evenly onto the rolled out dough, leaving about 2-inches around the edge.1 tablespoon apricot preserves
- Add the pear mixture on top of the preserves in an even layer.
- Fold the edges of the dough in over the pear filling.
- Lift the galette using the parchment to transfer it to a baking sheet.
- Transfer the baking sheet with the galette and parchment into the preheated oven.
- Bake on the center oven rack for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 375 F and continue baking for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove the galette from the oven and place it on a wire cooling rack. Brush the entire top with honey.2 tablespoons honey
- Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
- The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
- Besides pears, you can use apricots, apples, peaches, or plums. Just adjust the spices accordingly to complement the fruit.
- Keep leftovers tightly wrapped for up to 2 days at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
We do enjoy galettes with different kinds of fruit or berries. We have several pear trees and the harvest is bountiful. I used your pear galette recipe and I am changing my pear pie canned filling, it’s that good. To save that good fruit syrup that always leaks out when baking, line a shallow pie dish with parchment, place the crust and filling inside. The syrup will slide right off candied on the bottom.
Thank you Lana for sharing another delicious recipe
Thanks for letting me know how much you liked the recipe! And that’s a great tip about lining the pan, too.