CHOCOLATE PEAR TARTS
READY IN 2 hours SERVES 6
These tarts are so pretty and delicious!
INGREDIENTS Pastry
1½ cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup walnuts 2 tbsp cocoa 1 tbsp sugar Pinch salt 90g unsalted butter, chilled and diced 1 large egg yolk 2-3 tbsp iced water
Filling
1 pear, sliced vertically into six slices 2 tbsp lemon juice ¼ tsp cinnamon ¾ cup cream 200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped pine nuts and sliced almonds for serving
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Place flour, walnuts, cocoa, sugar and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Process until walnuts are finely chopped. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and water and mix until a dough forms. Remove dough from processor, roll into a ball and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Toss the pear slices in a bowl with the lemon juice and cinnamon. Set aside. Roll the pastry out to a thickness of about 3mm. Cut into circles and line six, 7.5cm greased tartlet tins. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Using baking paper and baking beans, blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes. Remove paper and beans and bake another 15 minutes, until golden. While baking the pastry, place pear slices in a single layer in the oven and bake until golden. When cooked, remove pastry cases from tins and cool on wire racks. To make the filling, heat the cream to just below boiling. Remove from the heat and add chocolate pieces. Leave to stand for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Spoon chocolate mixture into pastry cups. Place a pear slice onto each tart, sprinkle with pine nuts and sliced almonds, and place in fridge to set.