Pear & Almond Cream Tart w/ Chocolate Crust
8 tartlets or one 8-9" tart
Ingredients
Almond Cream
- 3 oz butter, softened
- 3 oz sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 oz almond meal
- 1 oz all-purpose flour, sifted
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp liquor of choice (caramel infused vodka used in the video)
- 24 slices of canned pears in light syrup (3 per tartlet)
- vanilla extract, couple of drops (optional)
Chocolate Crust
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 4 tbsp Dutch cocoa
- 1 tsp salt
- 6 oz butter
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp lemon or orange zest (optional)
Glaze
- apricot jam or favorite preserve/jam
Special Equipment
- parchment paper
How-to
Make Chocolate Crust
- Mix sifted flour, sugar, cocoa and salt
- Cut butter into dry mixture until it resembles coarse meal
- Add eggs and vanilla (and zest if using). Mix until incorporated. Dough will be rough, shaggy, and a bit crumbly
- Flatten dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
- Line tartlet molds with parchment paper
- Roll out on a lightly floured board to between ⅛" and ¼ “ thick. Chill before baking
Make Almond Cream, Fill Tarts & Bake
- Preheat oven to 375º
- Cream butter and sugar until pale and light
- Add eggs, yolks and vanilla slowly
- Add almond meal, flour and salt
- Add liquor
- Fill tart shells with almond cream and pears. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes
- Add warmed apricot jam glaze on top, remove from ring molds, and serve
Note: This dough needs to be kneaded briefly before rolling out. For tartlets, it works best to pull off a small lump, knead it, and roll it out. This is a very forgiving dough, so if it cracks, just squish it back together