Trio Tart of Pears, Chocolate & Cinnamon

Cooling from just coming out of the oven

I didn’t intend on making another chocolate bake so soon but I couldn’t let a Challenge slip by especially when chocolate is involved!

On the Cooks Journal Forum, there’s a TCJ Challenge for using 3 ingredients and for this month it’s pear, chocolate & cinnamon. The rules are that you must make a dish that incorporates ALL 3 ingredients. You can make a starter, main, dessert, pudding, cocktail. Entries must be submitted by the 1st February. You don’t need your own blog to join in with this challenge.

I toyed with ideas what I could submit for this challenge. It wasn’t until I ventured into the kitchen that creativeness was taken over in making my Trio Tart of Pears, Chocolate & Cinnamon. The base is sweet short-crust pastry with a hint of cinnamon combining a layer of sliced pears and a mousse chocolate filling with heart shaped pastry cut-outs. Of course I had to sample a slice, my spoon slid into silky smooth mousse and tender pear slices and crisp pastry! All I can say it was supreme pleasure on a spoon!

Showing a slice of the tart

Trio Tart of Pears, Chocolate & Cinnamon

Serves 8

Ingredients
For The Sweet Short-crust Pastry
175g (6 oz) plain flour
75g (3 oz) cold butter
Pinch of salt
25g (1 oz) caster sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1 egg yolk
You may need a little iced water
For The Fruit Filling
411g can of pears, drained and sliced
For The Chocolate Filling
5 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
200g (8 oz) Green & Blacks Butterscotch chocolate
275ml (½ pint) double cream
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of grated nutmeg

You will need a 23cm (9 in) fluted bottomed flan tin, greased with a little butter. A baking tray to place the flan tin on, non-stick baking paper and baking beans for baking the flan pastry case blind.

Method

For The Sweet Short-Crust Pastry, sieve the flour, salt and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl then add the cold butter cut into cubes. Rub through with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs then add the sugar and gently work through. Add the egg yolk and with a rounded knife bring the mixture together, you may need to add a little drizzle of iced water to form into a ball. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for half an hour.

Lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll out the pastry in a circle large enough to fit the flan tin. Roll the pastry up onto your rolling pin carefully and unroll onto the flan tin. Easing the sides of the pastry in to fit. Roll over the top the top of the flan tin with your rolling pin, which will leave a straight edge. Take the scrapes of pastry for cut outs for the top and place aside for later. Place the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven 200°C/fan 180°C/400°F/Gas mark 6

Now the pastry has chilled, place the flan tin onto a baking tray and lightly prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork. Take a large circle of non-stick baking paper and place this into the flan tin on top of the pastry, then add the baking beans on top. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes. The pastry will not be fully cooked through at this stage. Remove the paper and baking beans.

Whilst the pastry is blind baking start on the filling, you will need a large heatproof bowl to sit over the top of a saucepan filled with a little water barley simmering to melt the chocolate. The bowl must not touch the water. Place the chocolate in broken up pieces into the bowl to melt; it may take up to 10 minutes to melt fully, then leave aside to cool a little. In a large mixing bowl add the egg yolks and sugar whisking them together a little. Next add the cream to the egg and sugar mixture also whisking this through. Lastly add the cinnamon and grated nutmeg and chocolate whisking through until all combined.

Lower the oven temperature 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Fully layer the pastry base with the drained sliced pears and pour over the chocolate filling. Place the cut out shapes of pastry gently on top of the filling. Place into the lower temperature oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the chocolate filling is set in the middle.

Leave to cool in the flan tin until fully cold before removing onto a plate and cutting into slices. If you place this tart into the fridge to keep for a day, bring out 30 minutes before serving to come up to room temperature.