Our Timberline Pear Tart takes sliced pears, chocolate and hazelnuts and combines them in a tempting, glamorous dessert that’s easy to make. For a quick shortcut, use a prepared tart or pie shell, or make your own as desired.
Serves: 8
Difficulty: easy
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Diet: vegetarian
Ingredients
Sugar Tart Crust
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3 T sugar
1/4 t salt
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2” cubes
2 lg egg yolks, cold
1/4 c ice water
Timberline Pear Tart Filling
3 oz almond paste
2 large eggs
½ c butter, softened
c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
¾ cup hazelnuts, toasted,
roughly ground
3 canned pears, drained, sliced thick
9-in pie shell or tart shell, prepared
melted chocolate
4 oz apricot preserves, warmed
Steps
Sugar Tart Crust
Combine flour, sugar and salt; cut in cold butter, working to a coarse meal. Separately, beat yolks and water together. Drizzle in egg mixture until dough comes together, working gently by hand. If too crumbly, add a few drops of water. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and quickly shape into a rough disk. Wrap with plastic and chill at least 1 hour before use. May be frozen up to one month in advance (thaw overnight in refrigerator).
Timberline Pear Tart Filling
Preheat oven to 350°. In a mixer, cream together almond paste, eggs, butter, sugar and vanilla until smooth, 4 min. Mix in hazelnuts. Spread melted chocolate over the prepared pie/tart shell; chill to harden. Spread almond paste mixture over chocolate. Arrange sliced pears over the top, sprinkling with a few pinches of sugar. Bake for 40 min. Remove from oven. While tart is hot, glaze with apricot preserves. Cool to room temperature before cutting to serve.
