DessertPies & TartsProvencal RecipesTasha PowellTaste

Chocolate and Pear Tarts a Fall Dessert

This chocolate and pear tart is a perfect dessert for autumn. Chocolate and pears are a magnificent marriage of flavour and texture. For this dessert, I also created a leaf design with raspberry coulis and caramel on a white plate (using squeeze bottles) and blended the colours with a synthetic brush.  I meticulously placed chocolate chard on each slice of this tarte to add height to the dish. For extra flair, I sprinkled gold flakes on top of each individual slice, and I couldn’t resist making whipped cream and piping on a dollop to incorporate every possible texture for this dessert. Lastly, for crunch, I sprinkled a few pearled sugar grains (Sucre Grain by Beghin Say) for an amazing crunch.
Chocolate Pear Tarts Chocolate Pear Tarte with cake server

Chocolate and Pear Tarts

Tasha Powell
These tarts are easy to make and a delicious finish to a fall menu. Make sure to leave enough time to prepare and rest the dough.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time: 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
 
 

Ingredients for Pastry Dough:

  • 8 oz All-Purpose Flour
  • 2.5 oz unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces
  • 3 oz Powdered Sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks beaten

Ingredients for the Filling:

  • 3 Bartlett pears ripe* peeling is optional
  • 3 oz unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3 oz granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tbsp ground almonds
  • 6 oz All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 oz cocoa powder
  • ½ oz Espresso Coffee finely ground
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 5 oz milk
  • powdered sugar sprinkle for garnish (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F (200°C).
  • Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan (or use vegetable spray).

For the Pastry Dough:

  • Sift the flour into a bowl, add the butter and rub with your fingers until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the powdered sugar. Mix with a round blade in cutting motion, add the yolks slowly to bring the pastry dough together.
  • Then form a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  • Dust a cool workspace with more powdered sugar and roll out so the dough will fit in your springform pan. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the Filling:

  • Cut each pear in half lengthwise and core the center with a melon scooper (baller). Then, cut each half in thin 1/8 inch slices, keeping the ½ pear shape.  
  • Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light yellow and fluffy. Add the egg, then the ground almonds. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking powder and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Add the milk and mix until the batter is smooth. 
  • Pour the chocolate batter into the pan and smooth the top. Place the sliced pear halves in the pan and bake for 30 minutes. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serving the Dessert:

  • During my virtual cooking class, I demonstrated how to make an autumn leaf with a squeeze bottle of caramel and a squeeze bottle of raspberry coulis. You can also serve this dessert with powdered sugar, chocolate syrup, chocolate chards decorated with coloured shimmer powder.
    PLATING A CHOCOLATE PEAR TARTE

Notes

*NOTE:  If the pears you purchase are not ripe, cut and slice the pears and then bake them for 20 minutes at 375°F (200°C), then let cool before finishing your recipe.
The shimmer powder is manufactured by Easy Leaf Productions.
Keyword Chocolate, French Desserts, Pears, Tartes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Other Pear Desserts:

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This dessert is delicious either served warm or chilled. Once cooked the pears will keep covered in the fridge for three days.
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Mirabeau Rosé Poached Pears Fall Recipe
Poached Pears with Berry Purée
This recipe can be prepared with any variety of pear that you like. The best is to select fruit that has a large bottom (better for filling with the "surprise"). Prepare the pears and the filling in advance, a day or two ahead of serving.
Check out this recipe
Stuffed Poached Pears
Roasted Pears with Crème Anglaise
Serve one to two pear halves per person; adjust the proportions after deciding the serving size. In this case, I used 1/2 pear per person, but it doesn't hurt to make extra.
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Winter Dinner Party Menu Roasted Pears with Crème Anglaise
Sunken Pear Cake
Pears tend to spoil quite quickly, it seems like one minute they are hard and then way too soft. This is an easy dessert recipe to help you use up those fresh, harvest pears.
Check out this recipe
Sunken Pear Cake Versunkener Apfelkuchen
.

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Tasha Powell

Tasha Powell is a food stylist and writer who specializes in working with celebrity chefs and leaders in the hospitality industry. She cooks and styles for monographs, cookbooks and Satellite Media Tours, working between North America and Europe. Take a look at her mouthwatering photos on Cooking with a French Twist. Since July 2020, she has offered themed Zoom cooking classes influenced by her travels in France and Morocco. Here are a few:

• Fusion Vegetarian Menu: Cheese Soufflé, Grilled Vegetable Kabobs, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Lime Crème Fraiche & Floating Islands
• Fall in Provence: Carrot Soup, Seared Duck Breast and Chocolate & Pear Tarte
• 3-Course Gluten-Free Menu: Panisse, Grilled Shrimp & Chocolate Towers with Michelin Star plating techniques
• Food Styling Tips: Apéro Dînatoire, presentation & plating
• 4-Course Gluten-Free Menu: Cauliflower Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce, Zucchini Rollups, Roasted Leek Salad & Chocolate Lava Cakes, Michelin Star plating techniques
• Just Stuffed! Stuffed Aubergines, Tomatoes & Zucchini
• Provençal Cuisine: Baked Ratatouille Tian & Tarte du Soleil
• Add Sparkle, Shimmer, Silver and Gold to Your Culinary Presentations! By Lynn Neuberg of Easy Leaf Products and Chef Tasha Powell

Class listings can be found at Chef Tasha Events

Tasha also arranges culinary tours with Barbara Pitcher in Provence, France, in Marrakech, Morocco, in Sicily, Italy and in Parry Sound, Canada under Pitcher and Powell Cuisine and Culture.

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