Recipe of Chocolate-Pear Tart - Food Recipes

-- MasterCook Extracted --

Chocolate-Pear Tart

Recipe By : California Cooking: Parties, Picnics & Celebrations
Serving Size : 6
Preparation Time :2:00
Categories : Cake Fruit Black Tie Menu

Ingredients - Preparation Method:

SHORTBREAD CRUST-- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter 9 tablespoons confectioners' sugar -- sifted 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour -- sifted unbleached CHOCOLATE LAYER-- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate -- or bittersweet 2 tablespoons unsalted butter POACHED PEARS-- 2 cups water 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 strip lemon peel -- (3 inch) 1/2 cinnamon stick Splash of Cognac 4 pears -- Bosc GLAZE-- 1 jar apricot preserves -- (12 ounce) 2 tablespoons cura=E7ao -- orange liqueur or pear brandy GARNISH-- 1/4 cup sliced almonds -- toasted To make the shortbread crust, cream together the butter and sugar. Blend in the flour to make a soft dough. Add 1 more tablespoon butter if the mixture will not incorporate all the flour. Preheat the oven to 350F. Pat the dough evenly by hand into the bottom and 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Prick well with a fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water. Spread on the bottom and up the side a little to hide the 'seam' of the the tart shell and let cool until the chocolate hardens. To Prepare Pears: peel, stem, halve, and core the pears. (Photo tells me that the pears were peeled by slicing; the roundness is sharpened into an 8-sided geometry that is quite attractive.) Bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium heat in a large saucepan, stirring only until the sugar is dissolved. Add the vanilla, lemon peel, cinnamon and Cognac and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pears and poach for 10 to 15 minutes, until they can be easily pierces with a sharp paring knife. Let cool in the syrup. For the glaze, put the apricot preserves in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until smooth. Strain and add the liqueur. To assemble, drain the pears well, pat them dry, cut crosswise into l/4-inch slices (as evenly as possible across all pears) and arrange carefully in the tart shell, stem ends at the center. (Photo shows 7-halves -- not all 8 -- in the wheel.) Brush the pears with some of the apricot glaze and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Use a warm or heated sharp knife to cut wedges. (c) 1986 by Los Angeles County Museum of Art. NY: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. [mc-recipe: patH Sep 96] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Menu "Black Tie Dinner in Beverly Hills" A dramatic dessert, suitable for any special occasion, combines two of our true loves -- fresh fruit and chocolate. Makes one 10-inch tart. By using a springform pan, the shortbread crust can stand on its own -- serving on a silvered platter is 'tres elegante'