It feels like I have grown leaps and bounds in the past one year.Not just because I have become a mother..That is the biggest part of it but also how much I have learnt and discovered about food. This Poached Pear Frangipane Tart is the best example of how far I have come in my food journey since I started this blog.
Here is my old post of a Pear Frangipane Tart and the difference between the two couldn't be any further apart.The most stark is the photography.There is no major change in the equipment I am using now but the change is in the time I now invest in learning about photography.Cant say I am a Pro at it but I have still come a long way from the awkward angles and muted colours.
Chocolate Frangipane tart with Raspberry Pear
This recipe of Poached Pear Frangipane Tart lifts a humble pear frangipane tart from a homely affair to a magazine worthy dessert.It's the small changes and touches that matter.
A pear, raspberry,chocolate & almond heaven.I would love to eat this for breakfast with my morning cup of coffee ,sitting in my balcony..enjoying the serenity with things I Love.
The real transformation of this dish is in the poached pear.It transforms this tart from its plain Jane avatar to the Marlin Monroe diva , complete with the red lipstick.
Usually I wouldn't pair chocolate and pear because chocolate has the tendency to overpower and humble most subtle ingredients in a dish.Chocolate needs something stronger with a kick to make the fight even like chilli or orange which is what we have done here by poaching the pear in raspberry syrup.
Pears Poached in Raspberry Syrup
All the flavours are finally tied together with chocolate almond cream filling or the chocolate frangipane.If all this wasn't enough,the chocolate tart shell makes this dessert all even more decadent and sensuous and not just raises the bar but throws it a mile away!
Suggestions:
-If you don't have raspberries cause its not in season or you simple don't get it where you live then I would try this recipe with oranges instead.
-If you are not a chocolate fan(happens..meh!) simply omit the cocoa from the recipe.
-If you don't have a pie tin you can use a ring or a normal cake tin.The tart in the picture has been made using a cake ring.
Ingredients
Poached Pear
- 3 Pear
- 1 cup Raspberry-Frozen or fresh
- 1 litre water
- ½ cup Sugar
Shortcrust Chocolate Tart
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Whole Wheat flour Can also do 1 cup maida or all purpose flour
- ½ cup Butter
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 1 tablespoon Cold Water or more if required
For the Chocolate Almond Cream/Frangipane
- 75 g or ¾ cup icing sugar
- 75 g or ⅓ cup butter room temperature
- 85 g or ¾ cup almond powder or ground almonds
- 20 g or 1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 10 g flour
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Essence
- 1 tablespoon Flaked Almonds for garnish
Instructions
Poached Pear
- Peal the pears.
- Heat the water in a pot.Add the raspberries and the sugar.
- Drop the whole pears inside and simmer for 45 minute to 1 hour till a fork can be inserted in the pears easily.
- Leave it overnight in the poaching liquid so that the flavour and the colour can deepen.
Chocolate Tart
- Cut the butter into cubes and keep in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Mix the salt and cocoa into the flour.
- Take the butter out of the freezer and start rubbing into the flour.This is sort of a pinching motion.
- The butter cubes should have gotten mixed into the flour forming pea sized clumps.This process will take at least 10 minutes if the butter is properly chilled.
- Add the chilled water and combine the ingredients to make a ball of dough.Knead as little as possible.If the dough is roughly coming together its enough.Add more water only if required.
- Cover in cling film and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Take the dough out of the fridge 5 minutes before you have to roll.
- Roll the dough with some loose flour to ⅛ to ¼ an inch thickness.Roll the pastry an inch more than the size required so the edges come clean.
- Gently transfer on the pie pan and trim the excess dough off. Cover with a plastic wrap or inside a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least ½ hour.
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Poke holes in the pastry with a fork.Cover with a butter sheet(parchment paper) and add pie stones or any heavy grain/pulse like Rajma/Chickpeas or rice.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pie stones and the parchment paper and bake for another 10 minutes.
Frangipane Filling
- Whip the butter and Sugar together. Add the flour, vanilla essence and cocoa to it and mix with hand or spatula
- Add the egg and mix it all together.
- Add the almond powder.
Assembly
- In your pre baked tart shell of choice.Add the frangipane first.Level it with a spoon.
- Slice and core(take out the core)of the pears.Place the poached pear in any design you want over the frangipane.
- Garnish with flaked almonds.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees till the frangipane looks browned and just set.It might still jiggle a bit but will set once the tart cools.(the baking time will vary if the tart is bigger or smaller)
Notes
2. I have used flaked almonds to make almond meal.You can either buy the flour or make your own by grinding some almonds together.
3. If you don't have raspberries you can use orange or green tea too.
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