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Welcome fall into your kitchen with warm and bubbly Pear Crisp For Two topped with creamy vanilla ice cream and a tart blood orange sauce! Makes two individual ramekins but can easily be doubled for an 8×8 pan.

Pear Crisp with vanilla ice cream and blood orange sauce on top

When you think of fall, what comes to mind?

I’m guessing recipes like apple crumble for two or small pumpkin pie, but I bet most of you didn’t say pear.

The often overlooked autumn fruit, I decided to bring it front and center with this warm and bubbly Pear Crisp topped with creamy vanilla ice cream and a tart blood orange sauce.

Similar to my cranberry apple crisp, this is a fall fruit dessert you’ll want to serve once the chill is in the air and you’re wearing sweaters more than shorts.

Pear Crisp with oats combines the natural sweetness of Bartlett pears and crunchy walnuts with a crispy, buttery streusel topping.

You can even serve it for your Thanksgiving For Two.

And because I’m all about small batch baking, I turned this recipe into pear crisp for two so you can share it with a loved one or have one now then freeze one for later.

Spoon taking a bite of pear crisp

What is a crisp?

A crisp is a cooked fruit filling with a streusel topping. The difference between a crisp and a crumble is crisps have oats.

You can leave out the oats to make this a pear crumble recipe.

Fruit crisps are one of the easiest desserts to throw together when you don’t have a lot of time. Toss everything together then bake. No need to cook the filling separately.

Spoon with pear crisp and melted ice cream

Ingredients For Pear Crisp

To make your pear walnut crisp, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • Pear – I highly recommend using a Bartlett pear as it has more flavor than a Bosc pear.
  • Walnuts – Adds a bit of texture to the filling. You can easily substitute another nut such as pecans. Or leave it out altogether for a nut free dessert.
  • Sugar – Helps sweeten the filling and topping.
  • Cornstarch – Helps thicken the juices as the fruit cooks down
  • Lemon juice – Adds a bit of acidity to balance the pear.
  • Vanilla – Vanilla is to baking as salt is to cooking. It always enhances your dessert. Always.
  • Cinnamon and nutmeg – Warm spices that pair well with pear.
  • Salt – A touch of salt doesn’t make your filling salty but rather balances it with the sweetness.
  • Flour – Helps bind the streusel
  • Butter – Helps give the streusel its buttery, crunchy texture

Best Baking Dish For Individual Pear Crisp

To bake pear crisp for two, I used two 6-ounce ramekins (affiliate link).

They’re very versatile especially if you bake for two often, so make sure you check out my full list of Ramekin Dessert Recipes.

Don’t have ramekins? Put my entire pear crisp recipe into a 1 quart casserole dish (affiliate link) or double the recipe and use an 8×8 pan.

Pouring blood orange sauce on top of pear crisp

How To Make Pear Crisp

Making your pear crisp recipe is easy! Here’s how to do it:

  1. Toss together your pear, nuts, sugar, lemon juice, flour, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt then divide between two ramekins.
  2. Whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over both ramekins.
  3. Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

How To Serve Pear Crisp

The best way to serve your pear crisp recipe is with vanilla bean ice cream. Don’t have any? Whip up some homemade whipped cream.

Of course I elevated my pear dessert and turned it into a sundae by pouring blood orange sauce on top.

I chose blood orange simply because I had an abundance of blood oranges when I first made this pear dessert.

If you’re not a fan of citrus, you can use my homemade caramel sauce instead.

Pear Crisp For Two in a ramekin with vanilla ice cream on top

How To Make Pear Crisp Ahead Of Time

You can make your pear dessert up to 2 days ahead of time. There are two ways you can do that:

  1. Fully assemble your crisps but refrigerate before baking. Add an extra 5-10 minutes to your bake time.
  2. Fully bake your crisps, cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. Reheat at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until warm again.

How To Store Pear Crisp

If you’re eating your crisp the same day you’re baking it, then you can leave it at room temperature.

After that, you do need to refrigerate it. Wrap your ramekins in plastic wrap then refrigerate for up to 2-3 days.

Pear Crisp FAQ

Can you substitute apples?

Yes, you can substitute apple for the pear (see my apple crisp for two) or use a combination of apple and pear.

Can you double the recipe?

Yes, you can double the recipe and bake in an 8×8 pan for 25-30 minutes.

Can pear crisp be frozen?

Yes, you can freeze the crisp after baking. Allow it to cool completely then wrap each ramekin tightly with a double layer of foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.
 
To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight then reheat at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

More Fruit Dessert Recipes For Two

Whether you’re craving a crisp, cobbler, or crumble, here are more recipes for fruit desserts:

Pear Crisp with vanilla ice cream and blood orange sauce on top

Pear Crisp

Yield: 2 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Welcome fall into your kitchen with warm and bubbly Pear Crisp For Two with creamy vanilla ice cream and a tart blood orange sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 large Bartlett pear, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (roughly 1 cup)
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon table salt

Streusel

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons rolled or quick oats (not steel cut oats)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of table salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 6 pieces

Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup water, room temperature
  • 1 + 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed blood orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Have two 6-ounce ramekins ready.
  2. In a medium bowl, toss together the pear, nuts, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Divide evenly between the two ramekins.
  3. For the streusel: In another medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 forks until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over both ramekins.
  4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly, golden brown, and pears are fork tender.
  5. For the sauce: While the crisps are baking, in a small saucepan, warm the sugar over medium-high heat until it starts to melt. As soon as you see it turn the slightest shade brown, begin to gently swirl the pan.
  6. Once it starts turning a light amber color, very carefully add the water and orange juice (it will bubble and spatter, so you may need to stand back). Stir with a wooden spoon and boil until it is reduced by half (it should roughly be about 2 + 1/2 tablespoons). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until melted.
  7. Serve the crisps with ice cream and sauce.

    Pear crisp can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Notes

Recommended Products

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Did you make this recipe?

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© Carla Cardello
Cuisine: American / Category: Crisps, Cobblers, Etc.

First published March 5, 2013