RECIPE BY:

Matt Sinclair

INGREDIENTS :

• 100gm dark chocolate, 70% cocoa, roughly chopped
• 100gm unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup almond meal
• ½ cup caster sugar
• ¼ cup plain flour
• ¼ cacao powder
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ Tbsp. ground cardamom
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ sheets shortcrust pastry, thawed
• 2 ripe Beurre Bosc pears, cored, thinly sliced

METHOD :

• Pre-heat fan forced oven to 180C.
• Lay pastry onto a lightly greased 20cm tart tin and gently press the pastry into the corners of the baking tin. Trim off any excess pastry and prick the base with a fork and cover with greaseproof paper. Fill the lined pastry case with ceramic baking weights or dried rice and place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the sides are firm. Remove the weights and baking paper and bake for a further 7-10 minutes or until lightly golden.
• Meanwhile add an inch of water to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place a heat-proof bowl over the saucepan ensuring the water cannot touch the base. Add the chocolate and gently stir with a metal spoon until melted. Add butter and gently stir though until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a large bowl, add almond meal, sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and cardamom and mix to combine. Add eggs, 1 at a time and mix well after each addition. Add the chocolate mixture and bring together until evenly combined.
• Pour mixture into pastry case and smooth out with a spatula. Arrange sliced pears over the top of the tart and place in the oven for approximately 35-40 minutes or until firm. Use a skewer to test the middle of the tart, when the skewer comes out clean, remove from the oven to cool on a wire rack.