Bittersweet Chocolate And Pear Tart Recipes

PEAR AND CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll pastry out to 1/4 inch thickness and use it to line a 9-inch tart dish. Prick the pastry with a fork and then place into the freezer for 20 minutes to prevent pastry from rising during baking.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Set crust aside. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Heat a saucepan about 1/3-full of water to a low simmer, about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to lowest setting. Place a heat-proof bowl over the pan in such a way that it does not touch the water. Add chocolate to the bowl and allow to melt. Limit stirring to an absolute minimum to prevent chocolate from separating.
• Mix ground almonds, eggs, sugar, and butter together in a bowl. Add warm melted chocolate and stir to combine. Pour chocolate mixture into the baked pastry crust.
• Arrange pears on top of the tart by pressing them into the chocolate mixture.
• Bake in the hot oven until pastry is golden and mixture is firm, 35 to 45 minutes.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE MINT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Butter the bottom and sides of an 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom; set aside.
• Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Place cooled nuts in food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of the flour and pulse until finely ground. Place the ground nuts, remaining flour, and salt into a large bowl and combine. Combine the confectioners' sugar, brown sugar, and egg yolks. Using a wooden spoon combine the sugars and yolks until sugars dissolve. Add the softened butter and begin to add the flour and nut mixture. When it is well combined, form a ball and knead the dough. Flatten the dough into a disk and wrap it in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Lightly flour the top and bottom of the dough and roll out between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Turn the dough out into the tart shell and press gently to line the sides. Trim the excess from the edge. Freeze the tart shell for 10 minutes.
• Line the inside of the tart shell with aluminum foil. Place 3 cups of dried beans on top of the foil and place the tart shell on the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the tart shell from the oven. Cool on a rack leaving beans inside. When cool, remove the foil and beans. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Place milk in a saucepan. Boil and steep the mint and milk for 10 minutes stirring constantly. Drain and discard the fresh mint. Pour hot milk over chopped chocolate. Let stand for 20 seconds, and then whisk gently. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
• In a large bowl, whisk eggs, yolks, and sugar until blended. Slowly whisk in the chocolate mixture. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the filling into the cooled pie shell. Bake for 20 minutes or until set. Remove the tart from the oven and cool on a rack. When cool, place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

PEAR-WALNUT CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Pulse the flour, shortening, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and pulse until it is in pea-size pieces. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons cold water and pulse until the dough just comes together. Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap; use the plastic to help form the dough into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight. (The dough can be frozen for up to 2 months; thaw at room temperature.)
• Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch springform pan, pressing it into the bottom and 2 inches up the side. Chill 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until golden around the edge, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is golden all over, 10 to 15 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden, 8 to 10 minutes; let cool. Pulse in a food processor with the butter, confectioners' sugar, egg, cinnamon and salt to form a paste; set aside.
• Combine 2 cups water and the granulated sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Peel the pear and cut into 3/4-inch chunks. Add to the saucepan and simmer until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, then spread the pear on paper towels and let cool completely.
• Spread the walnut filling evenly in the cooled crust, then press the pear and chocolate chunks into the filling. Bake until the filling is puffed and golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE AND PEAR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour, set aside. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside. Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs on high speed until pale and very thick. (it will likely take nine minutes to get sufficient volume) While the eggs are whipping, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and cook it until the butter browns and smells nutty (about 6 to 8 minutes), scraping the solids off the bottom of the pan frequently in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Remove from the flame but keep in a warm spot. Add the sugar to the eggs and whip a few minutes more. Just as the egg-sugar mixture is starting to loose volume, turn the mixture down to stir, and add the flour mixture and brown butter. Add one third of the flour mixture, then half of the butter, a third of the flour, the remaining butter, and the rest of flour. Whisk until just barely combined - no more than a minute from when the flour is first added - and then use a spatula to gently fold the batter until the ingredients are combined. It is very important not to over-whisk or fold the batter or it will lose volume. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle the pear and chocolate chunks over the top, and bake until the cake is golden brown and springs back to the touch, about 30 minutes*, or a tester comes out clean.

PEAR AND CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Place the water and lemon juice in a saucepan. Peel the pears, cut them in half and core them. As each is peeled and cored, place it in the saucepan, just covered with water.
• Add one-half cup of the sugar, bring to a simmer and cook gently about 10 minutes, until the pears are just tender. Drain the pears and place them on several thicknesses of paper towel to continue draining.
• Melt the chocolate over hot water or in a microwave oven. Beat in the butter a tablespoon at a time, then beat in the eggs.
• Mix one-third cup of the hazelnuts or almonds with the flour and the remaining sugar and stir into the chocolate mixture.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts or almonds over the bottom of the baked tart shell. Cut each pear half into four thick slices and arrange the slices close together in the tart shell. Spread the chocolate mixture over the pears.
• Bake 30 minutes. Serve warm or cooled to room temperature with whipped cream on the side.