Crostata pere e cioccolato

Chocolate and pear, what a wonderful marriage. I’m particularly proud of this tart! I started playing around with a rest of chocolate ganache was sleeping in my fridge, and I thought to combine it with a frangipane cream. Pears were a forced consequence of course, they give an extra soft texture and contrast a bit the intensity of the dark chocolate. If you are a chocolate addicted, go for it :)

Crostata pere e cioccolato
Chocolate and pear tart

18cm tart tin

Cocoa shortcrust pastry 

    • 235gr plain flour (00 type - T405)

    • 1 egg

    • 100gr icing sugar

    • 150gr unsalted soft butter

    • 30gr cocoa powder (good quality, I used Dutch cocoa powder)

    • Pinch of salt

Sieve together the flour and the cocoa powder. Put the soft butter and the icing sugar into a bowl and mix together. Add the egg, a pinch of salt and the mix of flower and cocoa powder. First work with a spoon and then with your fingertips, until the dough comes together. It will be very soft, if you fill that is too much, add just a bit of flour. Shape it in a ball and press gently to form a flattish disk. Wrap in cling film and set aside in the fridge for five hours, better for a night. 

The pastry will make more than you’ll need. It will keep well in the fridge wrapped in cling film up to three days. You’ll have enough for other two small tarts, or some cookies. If you do not plan to bake immediately, it also freezers well, for up two months.

Chocolate ganache

    • 100gr dark chocolate (58% good quality, for me Belgian one)

    • 50gr double cream

    • One yolk

Chop coarsely the dark chocolate and put in a bowl. Make the cream hot (I warmed it in the microwaves) and pour it in two times on the chopped chocolate, until form a smooth and glossy cream. Whisk vigorously then add the yolk and mix together until smooth. 

Chocolate frangipane cream (almond cream)

    • 30gr soft unsalted butter

    • 100gr double cream

    • 120gr caster sugar

    • One egg

    • 30gr white flour

    • 20gr almond flour

    • 10gr cocoa powder (good quality, for me Dutch processed one) 

Whisk the soft butter with the sugar, then add the egg. Sieve together the flour and the cocoa powder, pour it into the butter mixture, then add the almond flour and last add the double cream. Whisk until combine and set aside.

Pears

    • 4 medium peers

    • One tablespoon of caster sugar

    • A shot of dark rum

Peel and core the pears, cut in slices. Put the pears in a shallow pan with the sugar and cook it for about 10 minutes, until they are tender. Turn the heat up and deglaze by adding the rum. Set aside and allow to cool down.

If you have ripe pears you can jump this passage, they will cook in the oven in the middle of the tart.

To assemble. Heat the oven to 180°C.  Butter the sides and the bottom of the tin tart, then cover the bottom with a small circle of parchment paper. Take the shortcrust pastry from the fridge, dust with flour and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper. The pastry should be not more than 2-3mm thin. Lift the pastry on the rolling pin and place it over your tin. Press it into the sides, cutting out the excess. Spread on the bottom the chocolate ganache, then pour into the frangipane cream. Add the slices of pear. Bake for 30 minutes, until the middle of the cake is firm. Set aside for 10 minutes, remove from the tin and place it on a wire rack to cool.