Remember upside-down or inside-out day back in your grade-school days? Or my personal favorite, opposite day? This Pear and Walnut Upside-Down Puff Pastry recipe reminds me of those fun, innocent, days where the point was to change your perspective and not take things so seriously.
And thanks to TikToker @lilyghodrati, millions of people started building their appetizersupside down and baking up fun and delicious surprises this year. Her upside-down nectarine tarts—where she drizzled puddles of honey on parchment paper, then topped the honey with shingled sliced fruit and a rectangle of puff pastry—have racked up more than 55 million views since mid-April. The fun idea has inspired tons of variations on the recipes, including mine.
How to Make Pear & Walnut Upside-Down Pastries
The easy upside-down appetizer formula pretty much begs you to play around with it, which is exactly what I did. I read many recipes for this type of pastry before I set out to develop my own and might have gone a little overboard with the ingredients. Simplicity is your friend here. Remember that the thin puff pastry sheets can’t take a ton of weight, so you can go easier than you might initially think with the ingredients. A little taste of each ingredient is all you need.
The best plan is to have your ingredients ready to go before you start. In this case, that means you start by cooking down an onion until it’s soft and jammy. If you want fully caramelized onions, you can take it further. This is a choose-your-own-adventure recipe.
Once the onion is cooked, the building begins. Start by rolling out your puff pastry, then cut it into four equal pieces. They’ll be square-ish, but no need for perfection here.
Next, drizzle some honey on a lined baking sheet, then sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese and some fresh thyme leaves. When you’re doing this keep in mind the size of your puff pastry piece. You want the pastry to cover the bundle of ingredients. Thinly sliced pears go on next, followed by those onions and some chopped walnuts. You’re almost done!
Put a piece of puff pastry over each delicious stack and press the edges down slightly to help trap all the goodness under the pastry as it bakes. Brush each pastry piece with beaten egg for a little shine, then bake until puffed and golden, which should take around 20 minutes.
Let the pastries cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before you flip them over. If you flip them while everything is still hot, the ingredients might run off the pastry and/or stick to the pan. Serve the pastries warm or at room temperature and consider serving with glasses of Champagne or other sparkling wine.
Related: Here is another upside-down pastry recipe we think you’ll love.
Other Fun Ingredient Combos for Upside-Down Pastries
- Mozzarella and pepperoni
- Fig and brie
- Apple and honey
- Rhubarb
- Apricots or Peaches
- Chocolate and almonds
- Banana and nutella
- Sun-dried tomatoes and pesto
- Roasted red peppers, kalamata olives and feta
Pear & Walnut Upside Down Pastry
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
- 2 pears, thinly sliced ( I use a mandolin)
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 tbsp blue cheese
- 3 tbsp crushed walnuts
- 1 egg, whisked
- Honey drizzle for each square
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Thaw puff pastry dough. On a lightly floured board, gently roll out to remove creases and thin slightly. Cut into four squares
- Thinly slice and sauté the onion on a low heat until brown and caramelized. Remove to cool
- Line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper. Begin by drizzling honey on the tray where you want each pastry to sit. Follow this by adding some blue cheese and fresh thyme leaves on top. Then, layer the pear slices over one another and stack them over each area. Finish the by adding a few pieces of caramelized onion and sprinkling some crushed walnuts over the top
- Lay a square of pastry over each parcel, pressing down lightly on the edges
- Brush the pastry with the whisked egg and bake at 400 for 20 minutes
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 mintues before flipping over. Garnish with a few fresh thyme leaves and enjoy warm or room temperature
