Chocolate Pear Tart

I had the most incredible chocolate pear tart at a friend’s birthday dinner.

I remember that night so clearly. For her birthday, she wanted nothing more but for us, her friends, to bring ourselves, a bottle of wine and our knife skills to her home. We would celebrate her birthday by cooking amazing food together, drinking wine, and of course, engaging in endless banter and retelling funny stories. And an amazing meal it was. Roasted chestnut soup, a savory roasted tomato, olive and onion tart, a wonderful white and green asparagus salad and salmon topped with pistachios and watercress. Instead of a traditional birthday cake, we had individual desserts.

This is where the incredible chocolate pear tart comes into the picture.

Layers of dark chocolate ganache and sliced pears roasted in butter, vanilla bean and crushed cardamom, delicately placed into a chocolate shortbread crust. It was unreal and unbelievably delicious.

Inspired by fond memories of that night and that tart, I made a chocolate pear tart of a different sort. I wanted similar flavors but I didn’t have the time to spare to create quite such a decadent dessert. In texture, this tart is similar to a thin, rich, fudgy brownie. I added 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee granules into the almond and sugar mixture and processed these ingredients together first. The tart is topped with fresh sliced pears dipped in lemon juice to prevent browning and then baked. Once cooled, the recipe calls for brushing the tart with warm jelly before serving. I skipped the jelly this time and it wasn’t missed a bit.

You could serve this with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream but it really is not necessary. Even without the added finishing touch of the apple jelly, it still had a deep chocolate flavor, but was not overly sweet or sugary tasting in the least. The pears added a hint of freshness and were the perfect fruit for this Autumn treat.

Chocolate Pear Tart

Adapted from Martha Stewart

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

1 cup whole blanched almonds

3/4 cup sugar (I used Demerara)

3 large eggs

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used a gluten free cocoa powder)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 firm, ripe Bartlett pears

1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons apple jelly ( I used Lilikoi (Passionfruit) jelly instead)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan with butter; set aside.

In a food processor, combine almonds and sugar; process until very finely ground. Add butter, eggs, cocoa, vanilla, salt, and almond extract, if using; process until combined. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan.

Peel, halve, and core pears; cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, rubbing them with lemon as you work (to prevent discoloration). Arrange slices on chocolate mixture, slightly overlapping, without pressing in.

Place pan on a baking sheet; bake until top is puffed and a toothpick inserted in center of chocolate mixture comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan.

Briefly heat jelly in the microwave or on the stove until liquefied. Gently brush pears with jelly; let set, at least 20 minutes. Remove tart from pan, and serve.

Tagged as: chocolate pear tart, Fall Recipes, Gluten-Free