Honey Cardamom Poached Pear Tart

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

At their peak, fall pears are tender and fragrant, tasting of flowers and butter. Too often desserts overwhelm that delicacy, but this tart keeps pears at the center. With an unbaked, gluten-free nut crust, lightly spiced ricotta and honeydrizzled poached pears, it’s elegant yet approachable. And if baking feels like too much, those same pears—with a swipe of ricotta and drizzle of honey—are just as heavenly piled on toasted bread.

Makes 1 (8- to 9-inch) tart

FOR THE CRUST:
1½ cups walnuts (or a mix of walnuts, hazelnuts and pecans)
1 cup pitted dates, soaked
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of ground cinnamon

FOR THE FILLING:
2 cups water
3 tablespoons honey
1½ teaspoons ground cardamom
4 pears, peeled, halved and cored
1¼ cups fresh ricotta
½ cup toasted chopped walnuts (or more mixed nuts from crust), for serving
extra honey for drizzling
flakey sea salt, for serving

MAKE THE CRUST: Pulse nuts into a fine meal in a food processor. Add dates, salt, vanilla and cinnamon; blend into a dough. Press into a 8-9 inch pie pan and chill to set.

MAKE THE FILLING: Bring water, honey and 1 teaspoon cardamom to a simmer in a saucepan. Poach pears in the liquid for 15 minutes, or until tender all the way through. Drain and cool.

Mix remaining ½ teaspoon cardamom into ricotta; spread on the bottom of prepared crust. Slice pears thinly and fan over ricotta in concentric circles. Sprinkle with chopped toasted walnuts and drizzle with honey; sprinkle flakey sea salt on top before serving.

This recipe appeared in the Winter 2026 issue as part of a larger story: Rooted in Comfort.