Celebrate

Chocolate and Pear Tart

Preparation Time:   30mins
Cooking Time:   40mins
Serves:  4

Ingredients

• 75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons Dutch cocoa
• 80g pecans
• 50g dark chocolate (50% cocoa solids), finely chopped
• 80g cold unsalted butter, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 375g packet All Butter Puff Pastry
• 2 firm William Bartlett pears
• 2 teaspoons plain flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• Double cream, to serve

Instructions

1. Process 55g (1/4 cup) caster sugar, cocoa and pecans in a food processor until pecans are finely ground.  Add chocolate, 60g butter and egg, and process until mixture forms a paste.
2. Preheat oven to 220C and line an oven tray with baking paper.  Place pastry on tray.  Using a 24cm cake pan as a guide, cut out a 24cm round from pastry.  Place a 21cm cake pan in the centre of the round, and, using it as a guide, score a 21cm round in pastry to create a border.  Freeze tart base until needed.
3. Quarter pears, then core and cut lengthwise into 3mm-thick slices.  Place flour, remaining 1 tablespoon caster sugar and pears in a bowl.  Spoon over the vanilla, then, using your hands, toss to coat.
4. Spread chocolate mixture over pastry within scored round.  Place similar-sized pieces of pear, tightly overlapping, over chocolate mixture (you will have some leftover pear).  Melt the remaining 20g butter and brush over the pears.  Bake tart for 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 190C and bake, covering loosely with foil if the pastry is over-browning, for a further 25 minutes or until pastry is dark golden and puffed.  Set tart aside for 10 minutes to cool.
5. Dust tart heavily with icing sugar, then, using a kitchen blowtorch, caramelise pears.  Serve the tart warm or at room temperature with double cream.

Recipe sourced from Taste.com.au