I recently found some delicious red pears in season at the grocers and discovered a fig tree growing locally that we were allowed to collect our own figs from! Just looking at the fruit-inspired me to create this sweet, honey-drenched tart filling staring fresh red pears and hand-picked figs.

Red Pear & Fig Tart

Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 mins (+ 45 mins cooking time)

Ingredients:

• 1 x 9-inch tart crust, pie crust, or sheet of puff pastry
• 3 red pears, skin on, cored, sliced
• 6 small fresh figs, cut in quarters
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 4 tablespoons plain flour (plus extra 1-2 tablespoons, if needed)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

I had some homemade pie crust in the freezer

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Prepare your crust if using homemade and chill until needed.
2. 
   
   Combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl and stir gently until everything is combined and sugar starts to dissolve. If there is too much fruit liquid add more flour. Spoon into crust and arrange evenly over the base. 
3. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until filling is thickened and the crust has browned. Cool for at least 10 minutes or until just warm before serving with cream or ice cream.

Notes:

• You can use different pears in this recipe, we just had red pears and they look fantastic in this tart
• Fresh figs can be expensive so try to find them when they are in season (summer)
• Fruit pies can be difficult to make as fruit often has varied water content and this impacts the filling of your pies. If you find you have extra juicy fruit you can simply add more flour. You can also replace the plain flour with cornflour if you were looking for a gluten-free filling.

This stunning tart was a true crowd-pleaser. Kids and adults alike swooned over the sweet honey and fresh spiced pear combination. We served ours with some freshly whipped honey cream using some local honey we picked up a few weeks ago. It is so simple to make and having a spare pie crust left in the freezer made this tart super quick and easy to put together while I was making dinner. By the time we ate it was coming out of the oven and ready to cool for a decadent fruity dessert...

I really hope you enjoy this recipe and I hope we get to go raid the fig tree again soon!