Autumn is slowly changing into winter, all of the leaves are almost gone and before I start sharing all of the Christmas recipes that I have planned for you I have the last Autumnul recipe today. This Pear Hazelnut Tart is a lovely light tart with the yummiest roasted hazelnut crust filled with deliciously fragrant spiced pear and coconut cream.
The tart looks almost little melancholic to me the way I styled it, a little reflection of me at this moment as I am shedding the past, letting go of what no longer serves me, surrendering and preparing to welcome the new. Just like the trees…
Making this tart is fairly simple. First, start by roasting your hazelnuts and rub the skins off, you could even slightly roast the sunflower seeds if you like. Place them into a food processor with the medjool dates to create a sticky mixture to form the crust.
For the filling make a simple pear sauce by peeling and quartering two large pears and lightly cooking until soft. Place the pear sauce with the coconut cream, spices and agar flakes into a small pot and simmer until agar flakes have dissolved. Cool slightly and pour onto the tart crust, refrigerate for about one hour until set.
Top with some more chopped roasted hazelnuts, sliced pear, thyme sprigs and a little flower if you like. Enjoy and do let me know if you make it!
Pear Hazelnut Tart (vegan & grain-free)
Ingredients
Tart crust:
- 150g roasted hazelnuts (1 1/4 cup)
- 70g sunflower seeds (1/2 cup)
- 7-8 medjool dates, pitted
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2tsp cinnamon
- 2tsp coconut oil
Pear filling:
- Pear sauce from 2 large pears (see notes)
- 360ml coconut cream (1 1/2 cups)
- 2tbsp maple syrup
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cardamom pods
- 3 cloves
- 2tbsp agar flakes
Topping:
- Pears
- Roasted hazelnuts
- Thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Prepare 9"tart tin with removable base.
- Place hazelnuts and sunflower seeds into a food processor and pulse few times until coarsely ground. Add pitted medjool dates, salt, cinnamon and coconut oil and blend until the mixture comes together. You should have a sticky mix when pressed together.
- Spoon the crust mix into the tart tin, spread evenly onto the base and around the edges to create the crust. Don't go all the way up, about ¾ high. The crust edge on mine was about ¾" tall. Place into the fridge.
- Place pear sauce, coconut cream and maple syrup into a small pot and mix well. Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, cloves and agar flakes and bring the mix to a boil. Leave to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes stirring frequently until the flakes have dissolved.
- Once ready leave to cool down slightly, remove the spices and pour onto the crust.
- Place into a fridge for about an hour to set.
- Before serving top with chopped roasted hazelnuts, sliced pear and thyme sprigs.
- Enjoy!
Notes
To make the pear sauce, peel, quarter and core two large pears and place into small pot with little water. Cover and leave to cook until soft. Strain and blend until smooth.
To roast hazelnuts preheat the oven to 180°C (350F). Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10-15 min stirring in between until the skin looks cracked. Remove from the oven and place hazelnuts onto a cotton towel and leave to cool. Bunch the towel and rub the hazelnuts inside the towel until the skin comes off.
Beautiful blog post Hana! This looks & sounds delicious! I really must try it xxx
Thank you so much Teresa! I know I can count on you always reading my posts ;) Love Hxx
That looks divine! I will make this for Christmas. Thank you for inspiring ❤️
Thank you so much Sophie! You’re so welcome :)
Hi Hana, this tastes amazing, but it came out like a gel blob. Did I use too much agar agar….I used powder and not flakes, do I need to use less? Thanks!
Hi Hilarie, Oh yes, you do, powder is much more concentrated. I can’t find powder in here so I always use flakes. It should say on the packet how much you need per cup of liquid. I’m sorry it was too solid :(
Hana, you are absolutely incredible and so immensely talented!
I am so glad to have found you on the B2B group!
xoxo,
Ashlee (@simplholistic)
Hi Ashlee, thank you so much, you’re so kind! So lovely to meet you! xx
Hi, I made this using all our South African ingredients.. had to use mixed nuts as I could not find hazel, but it was truly delightful… and beautiful!! Thank you for sharing your talents!
You’re so welcome Loreen! I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving me such lovely comment :)
Can I bake the crust?
Hi Yasmina, yes, you can but I recommend replacing the dates with some maple syrup, it works better. Try 2tbsp maple syrup and 2tbsp coconut oil in the mix.
Hello! Looking forward to making this for my sister at Christmas, do you know how long it can be stored for? And in what kind of place? Thank you
Hi Megan, you can keep it for 2 to 3 days in the fridge. Don’t freeze it, agar desserts don’t freeze well. Hope your sister love it :)
Hi Hana, thanks for this recipe! If I am struggling to find Agar-Agar, is an everyday ingredient I can use instead that will work?
This probably doesn’t help, but it’s often just called “Agar” and sometimes sold as “vegan gelatin” (or vegetarian). There are lots of substitutes listed online, and psyllium probably should be, too, but here you’re trying to get a particular consistency that might not work with any of those. You can get agar on Amazon if that helps.