CHOCOLATE AND PEAR GALETTES

THESE smart little tarts are a great way to practise using ready-rolled puff pastry. The classic combination of pears and chocolate makes this a perfect dessert for entertaining.

Makes 9 galettes

Kit you’ll need

2 baking sheets

Baking paper

For the galettes

2 x 410g tins pear halves in juice

50g (1¾oz) roasted hazelnuts, chopped 40g (1½oz) butter 40g (1½oz) light muscovado sugar 1 medium egg, beaten 1 tsp cocoa powder 2 tsp plain flour 85g (3oz) dark chocolate, preferably 70 per cent cocoa solids, chopped

1 x 320g (11oz) sheet bought puff pastry, preferably all-butter

1Drain

the tinned pears, then lay them on kitchen paper. You will need nine for the recipe so choose those with the best shape. Pat the pears dry and put to one side.

2Finely

grind the hazelnuts in a mini food-processor, as finely as you can, so they look a bit like

ground almonds. Alternatively, you can chop them very finely with a sharp knife.

3Preheat

the oven to 200c/180c fan/400f/gas 6. Line two baking sheets with baking paper and take the well-chilled pastry out of the fridge.

4Put

the butter and light muscovado sugar in a medium bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon until well mixed and softened. Beat 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg into the butter mixture. The mixture will look curdled but don’t worry about this. Stir in the ground hazelnuts, cocoa powder, flour and chocolate chunks, reserving a few chocolate shavings for decoration.

5Unroll

the pastry sheet on a board. Using a sharp knife, cut it lengthways into three, then widthways into three, making nine freeform rectangles. Lay these on the two lined baking sheets. Brush over each piece of pastry with some of the remaining egg, to glaze. Score down each side of each pastry rectangle with a small sharp knife, 1cm (½in) in from the outer edges, to create a narrow border.

6To

fill the galettes, spoon a rounded tablespoon of the hazelnut mixture in a line down the middle of each rectangle, well inside the border as it will spread as it bakes. Cut each pear half into five slices and lay on top of each line of hazelnut mixture.

7Bake

for 14-15 minutes, until the pastry is golden and puffed. Remove and, while still warm from the oven, sprinkle the pears with a line of chocolate shavings so the chocolate melts over them. Serve warm.