This spiced pear crisp with ginger and cardamom is an aromatic dessert where the intense flavours of ginger and cardamom enhance a soft layer of pears under a crispy maple oats topping. Perfect both warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cold with some whipped cream. This pear ginger crisp will make you happy year round.
This fruit crisp is very aromatic. It’s the kind of dessert that will make the whole house smell like you’re baking. Make this when entertaining and the warming smells of ginger, cardamom and butter will be the best welcome your guests can get. Everybody loves coming into a house that smells like baking!
Pear and ginger work very well together. Add cardamom to the equation and you have a fantastic flavour profile. This crisp was inspired by a pear and ginger cider from a local brewery here in Dalarna. The moment I tasted it I knew I had to try this combination in some sort of cake. So here is my pear ginger crisp.
Spiced pear crisp ingredients
The list of ingredients is not the shortest in this ginger pear crisp, but that is to build up the incredible flavour of the final product. We really want to give our taste buds a memorable experience here.
The fruity bottom layer is made with:
- Fresh pears
- Fresh ginger
- Cardamom pods
- White sugar
- Potato starch
As for the maple oat crisp on top:
- Rolled oats
- Flour
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Maple syrup (or golden syrup)
- Cream
Please find exact quantities and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. An overview of the recipe follows, with step-by-step instructions and photos.
How to make spiced pear crisp
- Peel, core and chop the pears. Extract the cardamom seeds from the pods and roughly crush with pestle and mortar. Peel and grate the ginger. Add chopped pear, crushed cardamom, grated ginger, white sugar and potato starch to a bowl and toss.
- In another bowl combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cream, syrup and melted butter. Mix with a hand mixer at low speed until combined.
- Spread the pears over the bottom of a pyrex or ceramic tart pan. Top with oat crisp mixture either by scooping it with a spoon or by crumbling it over with your hands, if the mixture has hardened too much to spread.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 40 minutes, or until the top layer looks golden brown and feels hard and crispy to the touch.
Serving and storing
The spiced pear crisp tastes great both warm and cold, so you can virtually take it to the table straight out of the oven. However, I recommend letting it set 15 minutes before serving. Pears release a lot of juice, and although it all cooks up, it may be difficult to serve. Unless you were planning to just dig in with a spoon directly, it will be easier to portion if you let it set.
Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream on top, or cold with a side of whipped cream. Chilled, this crisp will have a firm texture, very easy to serve. Warm it will be a little more on the runny side. Use a large spoon. To reheat you can either place the whole crisp in the oven, or microwave each portion.
I recommend keeping leftovers in the tart pan and tightly covering it with cling film. Let it cool down completely before you cover and chill. Store plastic-wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This spiced pear crisp freezes well! You can store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it come to room temperature, or microwave it from frozen and enjoy warm.
Expert tips
- Use fresh pears, not canned. This is an excellent recipe to get to consume ripe pears when you have too many, because you need quite a few.
- I strongly recommend the use of fresh ginger for this recipe. However, if you don’t have any available, you can substitute 1 1/2 tbsp of grated fresh ginger (the quantity in this recipe) with 1/2 tsp ground ginger.
- Freshly crushed cardamom seeds from a pod are stronger in flavour than ground cardamom, but if you only have the latter available 1/2 tsp ground will sub 10 pods (the quantity in this recipe).
- The flavour and scent of butter really complement the notes of both the pear and the cardamom. Unless you have a dairy allergy or can’t use butter for other dietary reasons, I would strongly recommend to use dairy butter instead of margarine in this recipe.
Pear crisp pairings
Whether we are talking dessert or afternoon snack, a coffee will never go wrong with this pear crisp. To keep the cardamom theme, you should try a cardamom cold brew. If it’s a glass of wine you prefer, an oaked Chardonnay with its notes of pear and butter is the perfect match.
Make it a meal? I think that this aromatic pear crisp is the perfect ending to an equally aromatic starter and main. So my suggestion for the perfect meal would be:
- Starter: Georgian eggplant roll-ups filled with walnuts, garlic, mint and coriander.
- Main: Beef patty open sandwich with a raw egg yolk and lots of onion or walnut radicchio risotto for a vegetarian alternative.
The thought of a dinner made up of these recipes followed by a glass of Chardonnay and a slice of this spiced pear crisp makes me drool as I’m writing. Trust me, you will have to try this incredible dessert. Here’s a pin so you don’t forget about this recipe, and as always please let me know if you make it by dropping a comment below! Thank you!
Spiced pear crisp
Ingredients
For the pear layer
- 4 pears (450 g peeled and cored)
- 15 g fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 10 cardamom pods
- 40 g white sugar
- 1 tbsp potato starch
For the maple oat top
- 110 g rolled oats
- 90 g flour
- 130 g brown sugar
- 150 g butter melted
- 50 ml maple syrup or golden syrup
- 50 ml cream
Instructions
- Peel, core and chop the pears. For one crisp you need to use 4 medium-large pears, or anything that will weigh 450 g after peeling and coring.
- Extract the cardamom seeds for the pods and roughly crush with pestle and mortar.
- Peel and grate the ginger. Add chopped pear, crushed cardamom, grated ginger, white sugar and potato starch to a bowl and toss.
- In another bowl combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cream, syrup and melted butter. Mix with a hand mixer at low speed until combined.
- Spread the pears over the bottom of a pyrex or ceramic tart pan. Top with oat crisp mixture either by scooping it with a spoon or by crumbling it over with your hands, if the mixture has hardened too much to spread.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
