The easiest (and delicious) pear and chocolate tart ever
Looking for a chocolate tart recipe?
I love pears and chocolate together, as proven by my love of Nigella Lawson’s pear and chocolate pudding for last minute dessert needs. Now the weather’s (in theory) a bit warmer, a lighter dessert is sometimes needed.
There’s always chilled pastry in the fridge for quick and easy pudding, and I decided that a pear and chocolate tart would be the way to go. I’m a big believer in store cupboard essentials, and tinned pears work perfectly fine for most desserts I do. It means there’s no need to buy pears and work out exactly when they’re the perfect ripeness.
For the base of the tart I decided on mascarpone cheese. It doesn’t go runny when baked, so would hold the shape more, and I like the creaminess of it. I didn’t include any sugar, but if you have ice cream with the finished tart, then you get the sweetness through that.
This went down really well with everyone. The OH didn’t make any comment (always a good sign), and N said he really enjoyed it, and liked the ‘cream’ underneath’. Both have had the leftovers warmed up or cold another day, so it’s an easy dessert I’ll be making again.
Pear and chocolate tart
Prep time 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes to get pastry to room temperature
Cook time 20-25 minutes
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Tinned pears halves, drained (around 400g tin)
Chocolate sauce – I had a ready made one, but you can just melt your own chocolate
Tub of mascarpone cheese
Ready rolled puff pastry
Ground almonds (or ready rolled marzipan, optional)
Instructions
1, Preheat oven to 180C
2, After leaving the pastry to de-chill, unroll it and place on a baking tray on top of the baking paper provided
3, Score lines 1.5cm inside the edges to make a border, then prick with a fork or score the inside of the base to prevent it rising
4, If using sprinkle over ground almonds (or roll out the marzipan to a thin layer and place on the base).
5, Dollop on the mascarpone. It’ll be hard to spread but just spread it out enough to cover most of the base
6, Slice the pear halves and place on the base
7, Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry’s golden and crisp.
8, Serve either drizzled with chocolate sauce or with the sauce in a jug for pouring. Add cream or ice cream if wanted
What recipes do you make involving pear and chocolate?
I’m not much of a baker but I think that this looks both easy and delicious! I have tried making things with chilled pastry dough from my local supermarket and thank it’s always fun try different toppings to make with it. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing. It’s so versatile isn’t it, for both savoury and sweet.
Oh my goodness so easy!! I am definitely going to make this although might use apples as I’m not a huge fan of pears. x
Yes do, Katy. Just change the almonds for a sprinkle of cinnamon. Or you could do nectarine and blueberry.
Yum. I use puff pastry a lot in savoury dishes but hardly ever make desserts with it. Sounds like a good one to try (might even get my kids to make it).
I find it’s so versatile for both sweet and savoury. Everyone seems to like it.