photo of chocolate tart with fruit and flowers next to window

November 11, 2019

Chocolate, Walnut and Pear Tart

Autumn, Food, Winter

By Bekah

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black cocoa, chocolate pear tart, desserts, pear, pears, tart, walnut, walnuts

flatlay of chocolate walnut pear tart with fruit, flowers and props

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When I think of the word “rustic”, this chocolate pear tart feels like the perfect definition of the word. It’s filled with chocolate, crushed walnuts and pear in a black cocoa crust, and it’s…well…SO rich and delicious.

If you were to eat this blindfolded, you’d be tempted to say you were eating a brownie. You’d then bite into a surprising burst of crisp, fruit flavor, and it would make you second guess that. This chord strikes that perfect harmony between chocolate and fruit, and you might not be at all surprised when I say you really should make it!

close up of chocolate crust of tart and flowers

chocolate pear tart with fruit, linen and flowers by a window

A few things before we get to baking:

You’ll noticed I’ve used black cocoa in the crust of this tart. It’s quickly becoming a favorite new ingredient of mine since I first experimented with it in this Black Cocoa Double Nutty Brownie recipe. Don’t let that stop you if you don’t have it on hand though. Traditional cocoa will work just fine. The tart crust itself is called a pâte sablée, which in French means “sandy”. Don’t let that intimidate you either. It’s really just a sweet shortcrust dough and oh so easy to make.

For the filling, my recipe is adapted from this Chocolate and Pear Crostata recipe by Marisa’s Italian Kitchen. If you don’t prefer the texture of nuts, then make sure your walnuts are very finely ground or swap them for almond flour. Personally, I love the texture of nuts in this recipe but that’s entirely up to you.

Lastly, you’ll notice the filling simply calls for 4 oz chocolate. I used a commonly found baking chocolate bar by Ghirardelli (60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate) and thought it added such a rich taste. You can use whatever chocolate you prefer though. Between the black cocoa and the bittersweet chocolate I used, this tart does have a dark chocolate flavor. If you prefer a milk chocolate flavor, I would use traditional cocoa in the crust and make sure your chocolate bar is semi-sweet or milk chocolate.

A few product recommendations for this recipe:

Print Recipe

Chocolate, Walnut & Pear Tart

This chocolate, walnut and pear tart is rich and delicious. The chocolate filling is reminiscent of a brownie but is lightened by the fruity taste of baked pears. The black cocoa in the crust gives this an extra chocolate boost.

Prep 2

Cook 45

Total 3

Servings: 12 people

Ingredients

For the black cocoa pâte sablée:

5 1/3 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
90 grams confectioners' or powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
2 egg yolks
255 grams all purpose flour (or cake flour)
3 tsp black cocoa (or traditional cocoa)

For the chocolate, walnut and pear filling:

14 tbsp unsalted butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cups walnuts, finely crushed (or ground)
2 tbsp all purpose flour
4 oz chocolate (60% to 70% bittersweet)
2 ripe pears (any variety)
2-3 tbsp granulated sugar

Instructions

For the black cocoa pâte sablée:

1) Place the unsalted butter, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attchment and begin mixing on medium for 3-4 minutes until light and creamy in color. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl several times for even mixing.
2) Once the mixture is light and creamy in color, add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each.
3) Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and sift in the flour. Then place back on the stand mixer and mix on low until just combined. If mixture is crumbly and does not come together, add 1-3 tsp of ice cold water until it does come together.
4) Turn out the mixture onto a lightly floured surfaced. Shape into a disk. Wrap in cling film and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. (Note that it can be left in the fridge for up to a week.)
5) After at least one hour, remove dough from the refrigerator and begin rolling out into a circle on a lightly floured surface until large enough to fit the bottom and sides of a 9-10" tart pan (approximately 1/8" thick).
6) Place the dough into the tart pan and form to the bottom and sides. Trim the edges of the tart dough for a clean edge.
7) Chill for an additional 20-30 minutes.

For the chocolate, walnut and pear filling:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3) Add eggs, ground walnuts and flour and continue mixing until smooth.
4) In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate. Stir in the melted chocolate into flour mixture.
4) Pour the mixture into prepared tart shell. Spread out evenly to the edges of the tart shell.
5) Peel the pears. Cut them in half length-wise. Remove the cores. Slice each half into 4-6 slices. Keeping the halves together, place them over the chocolate filling across from each other as though each pear half is on the following "times" (noon, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm).
6) Sprinkle the top of the tart with 2-3 tbsp of granulated sugar. This will ensure the top is slightly "crisp" when cooled.
7) Bake for 45 minutes or until the walnut mixture is firm, and you can see the sugar "crust" formed on top.
8) Let cool for at least 15 minutes and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.