Pear and chocolate frangipane tart

Since I haven't baked a tart in a while I wanted to make one that uses seasonal fruit and winter spices. This tart really speaks autumn to me, especially the smell of pears poaching in red wine.

First you will need to make and bake sweet pastry crust for the base of the tart. Then the tart is filled with chocolate frangipane and topped with poached pears. 

Frangipane is a filling made with or flavored with almonds or almond flour. It can be used in a lot of different ways including tarts, cakes and many other pastries. It is normally made with eggs, sugar, butter and almonds. I have added melted chocolate to the standard frangipane because lets face it, chocolate makes everything better. After the frangipane is added to the tart the poached pears are placed on top of the frangipane and then the tart is ready to be baked. The frangipane mixture will rise because of the eggs and the pears will be nestled inside of the tart. The poaching wine is then reduced to a thick syrup that you pour on top of the baked tart.

The most important part of making this tart is that you have to cool the pastry before you add the chocolate frangipane. If you put frangipane in the hot tart shell the butter in the frangipane will melt and you will have a huge mess. The frangipane won't rise in the oven and it won't look good. This happened to me once, I was so impatient that I added the frangipane on top of the hot pastry and things did not go well from there on. From this experience I have learned that I need to be patient when baking and avoid taking short cuts because they almost never pay off.    

What I love most about this tart, besides the flavor, is that it is not too sweet and heavy. After baking the whole kitchen will smell delicious like muled wine and pears and that alone is worth making this tart.

Pear and chocolate frangipane tart

(Makes one large (20cm) or 10 small tarts)

Time:

Preparation: 1 hour

Cooking(pears): 30-40min

Baking: 35-45min

Cooling: 20min

For the pastry:

• 195g plain flour
• 113g room temperature butter
• 50g granulated white sugar
• 1 room temperature egg
• a pinch of salt

For the chocolate frangipane:

• 100g room temperature butter
• 70g brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• one tea spoon vanilla extract
• 155g ground almonds or almond flour
• one table spoon plain flour
• 75g melted and cooled chocolate

Pears:

• 3 large or 4 small pears (I used Bosc pears)
• 750ml red wine (I used Merlot)
• 370ml water
• 170g granulated white sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick

Poaching the pears:

Peal the pears, remove the seeds and the core of the pear with a tea spoon. Remove the seeds from the bottom of the pear so that the whole pear is still intact. This is for presentation purposes only, you can also cut them in half and clean them that way, depending on how you want your tart to look. Pour the wine and water in a large pot, add sugar, cinnamon stick and pears and boil for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pears are soft. If you notice that the pears are floating in the wine, cut a round circle of parchment paper and cover the pears with it to stop them from floating on the top. When the pears are done take them out and pat them dry with a paper towel and set aside to cool. Put the poaching liquid back on the stove on high heat and reduce until thick and syrupy (about 30-40 minutes). Meanwhile move on to the pastry.

Making the pastry:

Put the flour and salt in a bowl and lightly whisk, set aside. Place the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) and beat until softened. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, beating just until incorporated. Add the flour mixture all at once and mix just until it forms a ball. Flatten the pastry into a disk, cover with plastic foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm. Lightly butter and flour the tart shell(s). Roll the pastry into the desired shape and size and gently place it in the tart shell. If you don't want to roll out pastry, you can just evenly pat it down to the bottom and sides of the tart shell. Lightly prick the bottom of the pastry crust with a fork, to prevent the dough from puffing up when it bakes. Cover with plastic foil and put it in the fridge for another 15 minutes. meanwhile preheat the oven to 205°C (400°F) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Bake the pastry case blind (put pie weights or rice on the parchment paper in the tart shell before baking to prevent the pastry from shrinking and puffing up) for around 12 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Making the chocolate frangipane:

Put the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer or with a hand mixer and beat until soft, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time mixing in between. Mix in the vanilla extract and add ground almonds or almond flour, mix well. Add plain flour and melted chocolate, mix until incorporated. 

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Put the chocolate frangipane in a cooled tart shell and even out with a palette knife or with a spoon.   

Cut the cooled pears a few centimeters below the stem all the way down so that they will fan-out when you gently press them down. Place the pears on top of the chocolate frangipane. Place them so that each piece of the tart will have pears on it. Put the tart in the oven and bake 35-45 minutes or until the filling is set and the pastry is golden brown.

When the tart is done brush the wine syrup over the tart and serve.

Before baking

Baked and ready to eat