RECIPE | Chocolate pear tart

Serves: 8

Difficulty: A little effort

Time: 2 hours

Pastry:

120g (1 cup) cake flour

70g (⅓ cup) brown sugar

A pinch of salt

125g cold butter, cubed

1 egg, lightly whisked

Filling:

180g (1½ cups) almond flour

100g (½ cup) granulated sugar

1 whole egg

2 egg yolks

125ml (½ cup) cream

A pinch of salt

Seeds of ½ a vanilla pod

One drop of almond essence

90g (½ cup) milk chocolate, in pieces

3 Tru-Cape abate fetel* pears

Juice of 1 lemon

30g butter plus an extra 30g, melted

15ml (1 tbsp) brown sugar

Method:

1) For the pastry, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse. Add the egg and keep the machine running until a soft dough forms.

2) Shape the dough into a disc, wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until firm.

3) Roll out the dough between 2 dusted sheets of baking paper.

4) Line a 20-23cm baking tin with the dough. Trim the edges. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork.

5) Freeze for 10 minutes while you are preparing the filling.

6) Preheat your oven to 180°C.

7) For the filling, combine all the ingredients up to the pears in a mixing bowl.

8) Peel, halve and core the pears. Drizzle with lemon juice.

9) Pour the filling into the pastry shell and top with the pears, cut-side up. (You might have to trim them.) Push the pears lightly into the filling. Dot with 30g butter and sprinkle with the sugar.

10) Bake for 40 minutes on the middle shelf, then brush over the 30g melted butter.

11) Return to the oven for another 20 minutes; to prevent too much browning place a baking tray on the shelf above the pie.

12) Allow to cool in the pan and as an option drizzle with chocolate sauce.

*Abate fetel is a distinctive long-necked, almost banana shaped pear that's good for cooking and baking; it's ripe when soft to the touch.