Sweet pears, spicy ginger, and sweet and slightly salted caramel combine for an absolutely luxurious tasting bite in this Pear, Ginger, & Caramel Pie. With a flaky, tender, all butter pie crust base, this pie is perfectly homey and perfectly comforting, especially during those cooler fall and winter days.
It’s been a year into my original questioning of whether people would be interested in a project of baking one pie a week, sharing the recipes and learning how to properly crimp along the way (because let’s be real, I still struggle with making a pie where the crimping actually looks good let along impressive).
So far, I’ve learned that this is going to be a year of practicing patience–pies take a lot of time as chilling and resting are almost just as important ingredients as everything that actually goes into the pie itself! Of course, there will be weeks that don’t require an all butter pie crust or weeks with hand pies that come together much quickly than a traditional pie does. But for now, we’re starting classic with this Pear, Ginger, and Caramel Pie (specifically a ginger caramel…it smells so good as soon as you mix the infused cream in with the caramelized sugar).
Another thing I’ve learned is that pie dishes vary greatly. Depending not only on the width of your dish but the depth also, you may need to add an extra pear or two to the filling to make sure your crust is properly filled. I have a personalized pie dish with “Baking Off Script” etched into it that is far deeper than the dish I was used to using, and the first time I went to try this recipe, I did not buy enough pears and had about an extra inch of crust up the sides because the dish was so under-filled!
I will just say though, that this crust is incredible. It’s super flaky and buttery and has a bit of tang thanks to the apple cider vinegar that gives it a bit of character and adds a little something extra to every bite of pie.
| Prep Time | 2 hours |
| Cook Time | 65-75 minutes |
| Passive Time | 2 hours |
| Servings |
servings
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- 170 grams all purpose flour (1 3/8 cups when scooped and leveled), plus extra for dusting & rolling
- 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 226 grams unsalted butter cold and cubed (1 cup)
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup ice
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 Tbsp vodka
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 3 Tbsp butter room temp
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 8-10 Bartlett, Bosc, or Ajou Pears peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 inch fresh ginger grated
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
Ingredients
All Butter Double Crust Pie Dough
Ginger Caramel
Pear & Ginger Pie Filling
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- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingertips, rub in the cubes of butter until you're left with mostly pea-sized chunks of butter.
- In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the water, ice, apple cider vinegar, and vodka. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of this mix onto the flour/butter mixture. Using a butter knife or your fingers, gently stir to mix until fully incorporated. Continue to add the ice water mix 1-2 Tbsp at a time until fully incorporated. You should notice large chunks beginning to form. Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball, there should be some dry bits of flour left still. Use your fingertips to gently pinch these bits together with the rest of the dough. You may need to give it one or two gentle kneads to incorporate these dry bits.
- Split the dough so that you have slightly more in one half than the other and shape into two flat rectangles about 5" x 3". Wrap in plastic. Using a rolling pin, gently press and roll the dough to flatten the dough and bring any dry bits at the edges together. Allow the dough to chill and rest in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight. If you leave the dough in the fridge longer than an hour, allow it to sit at room temp for 10-20 minutes before rolling it out.
- When you're ready to make your pie, grease a 9"-to-10" pie dish. Gently sprinkle your work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll out your larger rectangle of dough until it's about 2mm thick and about 2 inches wider than your pie dish all around. Lightly flour the top of the dough and gently roll over the pin. Lift the dough and place it into your prepared pie dish. Gently press the dough into the dish, being careful not to stretch the dough to make it fit; you should have overhang. Chill the bottom crust in the freezer while you prepare your caramel and pear filling.
- Roll out the second rectangle of pie dough. If you're cutting out strips or a design, do so as desired. If you want to fully cover the top of the pie, roll out the crust until it will cover the top of your pie dish. Chill in the fridge while you continue to make the filling.
- In a small saucepan, heat the 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream and the grated ginger over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain the cream. You may need to add an additional Tbsp of heavy cream if yours thickened on the stove. Add the room temp butter to the warm cream and set aside.
- In a medium pan, heat the granulated sugar over medium-high heat. As the edges begin to caramelize, use a rubber spatula to stir the melted sugar and move whatever hasn't melted to the edges. Once the caramel reaches a deep amber color, remove the pan from the heat. Add in 1/3 of the butter and ginger infused cream, whisking constantly. The mixture might bubble a little. Slowly add in the rest of the butter and cream. Return to low heat and continue to stir until you have a smooth caramel. Add in a pinch of salt and stir to distribute. Remove the caramel from the heat and transfer to a large glass measuring cup or a small bowl. Cool in the fridge about 30 minutes until thick yet pourable.
- In a large bowl, stir together the sliced pears, lemon juice, sugar, ground cardamom, ground ginger, freshly grated ginger, salt, and all purpose flour. Allow to rest in the fridge 30 minutes. Some juices should pull from the prepared filling in that time.
- Make sure one rack is placed at the bottom of the oven and another is at the center. Place a large baking sheet, larger than your pie dish to catch any drippings, on the bottom rack. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Once the filling and caramel have had time to chill and set, remove your prepared pie dish from the freezer. Sprinkle the bottom of the pie crust with a bit of flour (1-2 Tbsp) to help absorb any liquid that bakes out of the pears. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the pear filling and allow the excess liquid to drain out before adding to your pie dish. Add about 1/2 of the pear filling to your pie dish. Top with 1/2 of the ginger caramel.
- Gently dot the top of your pie with small pieces of butter. Add the top of your crust, or your design and crimp the edges to bring the top and bottom crusts together, cutting away any excess before doing so. If fully covering the top of the pie, make sure the cut a couple of slits in the top to vent the pie and allow any steam to escape.
- Whisk together 1 egg and 1 Tbsp water. Brush the egg wash across the top layer of pie dough. If you're using a lattice, be careful not to get the egg wash on the exposed pears or it might burn while baking. If you desire, sprinkle over the top with a bit of raw sugar (optional).
- Remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven. Place your pie dish on the baking sheet and return to the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Move the pie to the center rack of the oven and continue to bake for another 35-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the pears are tender. Depending on the heat of your oven and the thickness of your pear slices, you may need to keep the pie in for an additional 10 minutes or so.
- Once golden brown and the pears are tender and soft (you can test this with a sharp knife or a toothpick), remove the pie from the oven. Allow to cool completely for at least 2-3 hours before slicing and enjoying.
You should only need about 6-9 Tbsp of water to make the double crust come together. Be careful not too add too much liquid to the dough.
You can rest the dough in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 3 days if you want to make it ahead. You can also make extra and freeze for about a month, just place it in the fridge to defrost a couple of days before needing it.