Asian Pear Pie

4.72 from 7 votes

This Asian Pear Pie is a delicious twist on a classic Homemade Apple Pie. The filling is perfectly sweet, spiced with freshly grated ginger and has the perfect balance of sweet tart apples and fragrant Asian pears. For the flaky all-butter pie crust you can made it from scratch or use a store-bought crust. Serve it with Chicken and Dumplings for the best cozy comforting dinner.

Prep Time1 25

Cook Time1 5

Total Time2 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Autumn, Fall

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: slices or 1 (nine-inch) pie

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Cost: $12

Equipment

1 Rolling Pin
1 9-inch pie dish
1 Medium-mixing bowl

Ingredients

2 to 3 peeled firm Asian pears cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 to 3 small apples I used Pink Lady but Gala, Honeycrisp or Golden Delicious are all good!, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt
2 homemade or store-bought pie crusts
1 large egg beaten, for egg wash
1 to 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar as topping

Instructions

To a medium bowl, mix together the sliced pears, apples, brown sugar, creme fraiche or sour cream, flour, ginger, lemon juice and salt. Set aside.
Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the first pie crust, rotating and flouring it every so often so it doesn’t stick to the surface, to a 13-inch circle. Roll the dough over the rolling pin and place it over a 9-inch pie dish. Transfer to the fridge while you roll out the second pie crust.
Roll out the second disk of dough and create a topping however you like. Do a normal lattice, an intricate lattice, make braids. The possibilities are endless, just remember that the freezer is your friend. If your pie dough ever becomes too soft to manage, be sure to put it on a cutting board and stick it in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. It’ll instantly become easier to work with.
Remove the pie dish from the fridge and pour in the filling, including all the juices that the pears and apples have released—this is the good stuff! Place the pie crust on the top however you like and seal it up! Transfer the whole pie to the freezer for about 20 minutes (this will firm it up and eliminate the possibility of shrinking like crazy).
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the pie on a baking sheet and brush it with egg wash and sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the pie is lightly golden brown. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
Allow the pie to cool for at least 30 minutes, if you’re impatient. If you want sliceable slices that stay in tact, allow the pie to cool for 2 to 3 hours.

Notes

Tips and Tricks

Peeling fruit – I don’t peel my apples but you’re welcome to if you like. I personally like the texture. However, I DID peel the Asian pears because their skin is a bit tougher.
Add a bit of flour to the filling – Flour, cornstarch or tapioca starch is a MUST when making fruit pies of any kind. Mixing it with the fruit before baking thickens the juices which prevents a runny filling. If you’re substituting cornstarch for flour, use 1 1/2 teaspoons since cornstarch has twice the thickening power as flour.
If you want to make this EXACT topping, you’ll need to make a larger amount of pie crust. Here’s the recipe for the triple pie crust.
Can’t find Asian pears? Asian pears are usually available in major grocery stores. If you can’t find Asian pears, replace them with Bosc pears, or you can easily make this an all apple pie if you like!
Chill pie before baking – After assembling the whole pie, place it into the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This helps to firm up the dough and eliminates the possibility of shrinking when baking in the oven.
Decorating ideas – You can roll out the top crust and simply cut a few slices in the middle for steam, or you can cut the crust into strips to make a lattice pattern. It just depends on how simple or elaborate you want to be!

Nutrition