Bittersweet Chocolate And Pear Tart Recipes

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 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.

CHOCOLATE PEAR TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with oil or cooking spray.
• Place the sheet of puff pastry on the baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. (Turn the oven off; the rest of the tart does not require baking.)
• Meanwhile, place the sugar, chocolate chips, and cream in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
• Drain the pear halves and cut each one into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on paper towels and let drain for at least 15 minutes. (If the pears have too much juice on them it will make the chocolate watery.)
• Spread the chocolate over the top of the puff pastry, avoiding about 1 inch around the outside edge. Shingle the pear wedges over the chocolate. (The tart can be kept at room temperature for several hours before serving, but leftovers should be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.)
• Food for Thought
• One medium pear can contain as much as 5 grams of fiber, which is beneficial to your heart, digestive system, and cholesterol levels. The same size pear contains only 100 calories even though it contains high concentrations of levulose, which is the sweetest of the natural sugars. Sweet, juicy, and healthy, how can you pass that up?