Chocolate Almond Frangipane & Pear Tart

Ingredients

Chocolate & almond frangipane

• 125g unsalted butter
• 125g raw caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (120g) ground almonds
• ¼ cup (35g) cornflour
• 70g Haigh’s Dark Chocolate Pastilles, melted and cooled

Poached Pear

• 125g unsalted butter
• 125g raw caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (120g) ground almonds
• ¼ cup (35g) cornflour
• 70g Haigh’s Dark Chocolate Pastilles, melted and cooled

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Lightly grease a 24cm round fluted tart tin with removable base and line with baking paper.
2. For the poached pears, place wine, sugar, orange peel and cinnamon together in a small saucepan, over a medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, add pears, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until pears are tender. Remove from heat, set aside and allow pears to cool completely in cooking liquid. Once pears have cooled, remove from poaching liquid (reserving for later) and slice each pear quarter into thirds about 1cm from the top to create a fan. Repeat with remaining pear quarters. Set aside until required.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll chocolate pastry to a thickness of 3mm. Carefully line the tart tin with pastry. Using a fork dock (prick) the base of the tart shell. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. To blind bake the tart case, line with baking paper or foil. Cover paper with baking beans (eg. dried chickpeas) to help support the sides and weigh the base down during cooking.
5. Place tart tin on baking tray in preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, check pastry is lightly golden around the edges before removing beans and baking paper. Return tart tin to oven and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
6. Meanwhile to make the chocolate frangipane, beat the butter, sugar, zest and cinnamon together using an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each has been incorporated. Stir in the ground almonds and cornflour, mixing until well combined. Add the cooled melted chocolate, stirring gently until combined. Spoon frangipane mixture into cooked tart shell and spread evenly. Place the prepared pear quarters over the top of the frangipane.
7. Place tart shell on baking tray in preheated oven and cook for 1 hour or until pastry is golden and frangipane is cooked through. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
8. Meanwhile, reduce reserved pear poaching liquid until it becomes syrupy. Brush pears on cooked tart, to add an extra flavour burst.
9. Serve tart with cream or ice cream.