A rustic, sweet French pie with cinnamon honey walnut frangipane, topped with thin-sliced pears, then drizzled with honey, butter, lemon and vanilla and nestled in a flaky walnut crust, this pretty Honey Walnut Pear Galette will win your heart! And the favor of your guests as well. Once you’ve tasted this lovely pie, I think you’ll want to add it to your holiday menu every year. I can’t wait to make it for Christmas!
In case you think Americans are the best at pies, let’s talk about what makes this French galette even better. The layers here are what make this galette so amazing:
- Flaky walnut whole-wheat crust makes the base
- Then a honey walnut cinnamon frangipane (think crumble, but in nutty form) adds a layer of rich flavor and coats the crust to keep it from getting soggy
- Thin-sliced, sweet ripe pears sit on top of the crumble, with a bit of lemon juice squeezed on top.
- Finally a drizzle of melted honey butter coats the pears. Sprinkle with raw sugar for a bit of crunch and bake.
Despite the length of the recipe, this pear galette is much simpler than a pie to put together! I broke up the recipe into steps to make it easy. You need to put the crust together ahead of time. Then refrigerate it until shortly before you’re ready to assemble your lovely galette. Instead of messing with a top crust or fussing with the edge of the pie, you simply fold the sides of the dough up over the filling. So easy, yet so pretty!
I use a food processor to simplify making both the crust and the walnut crumble that goes under the pears. But if you are in a hurry, you can always use ready-made crust from the store. Please don’t skip out on the honey walnut cinnamon frangipane. It’s a quick, simple blend that adds so much.
How to Ripen Pears
You’re going to need some perfectly ripe pears for this recipe. Most grocery stores sell pears when they are rock hard, not ripe at all. Simply set the pears on the counter at room temperature for 2 – 4 days until there’s a little give when you gently push your finger into the top of the pear. Test each pear separately since they will ripen slightly differently. I like to set my bananas near them as they release a gas that helps other fruits ripen faster.
To speed up the ripening process even more, you can put them in a paper bag with a ripe banana.
Once the pears are ripe, store them in the fruit drawer in the fridge until it’s time to bake. Be careful not to bruise them as they will be very sensitive once they’re ripe.
How to Serve your Honey Walnut Pear Galette
As with most pies, this pear galette is best served warm or at room temperature. I love to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, or you could serve with whipped cream.
Fair warning: this recipe is NOT as sugar-laden as most American pies. So if you want more sweetness, try drizzling with a little more honey or some salted caramel sauce at serving time.
Crust recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma. Filling recipe adapted from Fit Foodie Finds.
Print
Honey Walnut Pear Galette
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 8 – 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the cinnamon walnut crust (makes 2 crusts – recipe uses 1 of them):
- 8 oz. (2 sticks) salted butter – cut into little cubes & frozen
- 6 – 8 Tablespoons vodka – stored in freezer (still liquid)
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (see notes for added fiber)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
For the honey walnut pear filling (fills 1 crust – double the filling and topping to make 2):
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 – 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 3 large pears, washed
- Juice of half a lemon
For the top (for 1 galette – use double for 2):
- 2 Tablespoons melted salted butter
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Turbinado (raw) sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the butter into small cubes, set back on the butter wrapper on a plate and set in the freezer to chill. Pour some vodka into a small freezer-safe cup (or measuring cup) and set that in the freezer as well. Put the walnuts in a mini food processor and blend into tiny bits, almost like flour.
- When the butter is frozen and the vodka is very very cold, put the walnuts with the flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix well. Add the butter, a bit at a time, pulsing several times to cut the butter into the flour. Once the butter is all added, pulse again until the mixture is a crumble. Add the vodka, a Tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each add until the mixture starts to come together into a dough. Pour the dough out onto a clean surface and shape into two balls with your hands. Wrap each with plastic wrap, put in the fridge and let chill for at least an hour or up to several days.
- When you’re ready to make your galette, get the dough out of the fridge and let it set until room temperature. Smash with your hands to flatten one ball into a flat round disc. Use a rolling pin on a clean floured surface to roll it out to 1/8 inch thick. Carefully transfer the dough to a large flat pan (or pie pan – if using pie pan, gently press the dough down flat on the bottom).
- Prep the filling. First, in the food processor, blend together the walnuts with the flour, spices and salt until the nuts are very small bits, almost flour texture. Add the honey and pulse several times until the mixture starts to look like a crumb texture. Spread this mixture over the center 2/3 – 3/4 of the dough in the pie pan.
- Cut the pears into quarters, remove the core with a knife, then slice very thin. Arrange the slices over the walnut mixture. Squeeze the lemon juice over top of the pears. Fold the sides of the pastry up over the edges of the pears.
- Make the topping: melt the butter, then stir together with the honey and cinnamon. Brush this over the pears, using a little on the crust as well, then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake at 375 F. for 30 – 40 minutes, turning half-way, until the crust is golden brown and the pears are tender. Let cool before slicing and enjoy!
Notes
- For faster results, you can use a ready-made pie crust.
- If you want more fiber in your crust, you can replace some of the flour with psyllium husk or other fiber powder. Use up to 5 Tablespoons psyllium. I think the psyllium actually helps the crust bind together better and you won’t even know it’s there from the taste.
- RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2023, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Keywords: Walnut, Honey, Pie, Galette, French, Pear
Looking for more pear recipes?
I adore pears so I use them in my recipes often! Here are some of my other favorite pear recipes:
- Raspberry Pomegranate Pear Salad
- Lavender Pear Bellini
- Honey Lavender Wine Poached Pears
- Pear, Bacon & Blue Cheese Pizza
- Lemon Cardamom Pear Crisp
- Smoked Turkey, Gouda & Pear Grilled Cheese
- Walnut Whole Wheat Pear Chai Muffins
- Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Pears
- Prosciutto Pear Bites with Herbs & Blue Cheese
- Pear, Blue Cheese & Candied Walnut Salad
- Rosemary Red Wine Poached Pears
- Double Chocolate Pear Tart
