Bite into these rich and crumbly chocolate tarts that give way to a soft and gooey centre, perfectly complimented with toppings of oven-baked honey walnuts and vanilla-poached pears.
Ingredients
- 125 g cold butter, chopped
- ¼ cup (40 g) icing sugar
- 1¼ cup (185 g) plain flour
- 1 tbsp dutch cocoa
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp chilled water
- 400 g dark chocolate (50 per cent cocoa) chopped
- 200 g butter, chopped coarsley, extra
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp plain flour
POACHED PEARS
- ½ cup (125 ml) lemon juice
- ½ cup (175 g) honey
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- ½ cup (110 g) caster sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
- 6 green pears (1.2 kg), peeled, quartered
HONEYED WALNUTS
- ¾ cup (75g) walnuts
- 1 tbsp honey
Steps
Process butter, icing sugar, flour and cocoa until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and the water; process until ingredients come together. Enclose in plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 mins.
Roll pastry between sheets of baking paper until 5 mm thick. Freeze 5 mins. Lift pastry into an 11 cm x 35 cm rectangular loose-based fluted tart tin, press into sides, trim edges; prick base all over with a fork. Freeze 20 mins.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200 C.
Place tart tin on an oven tray; line with baking paper, fill with dried beans or rice. Bake 15 mins. Remove paper and beans; bake a further 10 mins or until browned lightly. Cool on tray.
Reduce oven to 180 C.
Stir chocolate and extra butter in a heatproof medium bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until just melted. Remove bowl from pan; whisk in egg and flour until just combined. Pour mixture into pastry case; smooth surface.
Bake tart 20 mins or until just set. Cool. Cover; refrigerate 3 hrs or overnight.
Meanwhile, make poached pears, Heat juice, honey, the water, sugar and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan over a low heat; cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil over a high heat; reduce heat to medium-low. Add pears; cook 20 mins or until just tender.
Remove pears from syrup with a slotted spoon. Return syrup to the boil over high heat. Boil 10 mins or until thickened slightly.
Next make honeyed walnuts. Place walnuts on a baking-paper-lined oven tray. Drizzle with honey; toss to coat. Bake at 180 C for 12 mins, stirring halfway, until golden. Cool.
Serve tart topped with walnuts and syrup, accompanied with pears.
Photo: bauersyndication.com.au