Chocolate Almond Pear Tart

Name: Chocolate Almond Pear Tart Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 4 ounces (115 grams/1 stick) unsalted butter (softened); ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar; 1 egg yolk; 1½ cups (187 grams) all purpose flour; 7 ounces (200 grams/1¾stick) unsalted butter; ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar; ½ cup (100 grams) dark brown sugar; 3 eggs (beaten); 2 cups (200 grams) ground almonds (almond meal); 2 tablespoons all purpose flour; 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur (optional); 4 ounces ( 115 grams) dark chocolate (melted ); 2 pears (fully ripe but firm ); powdered sugar for dusting

Jump to Recipe

Do you need to please a crowd? Then Chocolate Almond Pear Tart is the recipe you’re looking for.

Everyone will love the taste and be so impressed with your baking prowess! But there’s no need to tell them how easy it is. That can be our secret!

Chocolate almond pear tart on a white cake stand with a slice removed and plated in front. — An impressive dessert that everyone loves!

This Chocolate Almond Pear Tart combines classic flavors of chocolate with almonds and pears that complement and pair so well together. Chocolate is universally loved and paired with so many flavors like caramel as in my Chocolate and Caramel Cake or orange as in my Chocolate Orange Cake.

There are three easy components to this dessert. First, the almost no fail crust begins with beating softened butter and sugar together. Then the filling is a simple matter of combining the ingredients. And finally topped with sliced pears that are fanned out.

Table of Contents

1 Why you’ll love this recipe
2 Ingredients
3 Instructions
4 Substitutions
5 Variations
6 Equipment
7 Storage
8 Top tips
9 FAQ
10 Related
11 Pairing
12 Recipe
13 Chocolate Almond Pear Tart Recipe

Why you’ll love this recipe

Flavor Combination - The combination of rich chocolate, nutty almonds, and sweet, juicy pears creates a delicious blend of flavors that will appeal to many people. This is the perfect recipe to make for a potluck dinner or when your task is to supply the dessert.
Texture - You’ll love the contrast between the crisp crust, slightly gooey filling and the tender pears on top of this Chocolate Almond Pear Tart .
Versatile - Whether topped with a scoop of ice cream for an impressive dessert or served with a cup of coffee when friends drop in, this tart is perfect for all occasions.
Impressive - Fanned pears attractively arranged on the top look so impressive that your guests will think you bought this Chocolate Almond Pear Tart at the local pastry shop. But the secret is that fanned pears aren’t hard to create at all. Follow all my tips for success!

For complete ingredient quantities and full instructions, please scroll to the printable recipe card bottom of the page.

Ingredients

All purpose plain flour - Just regular all purpose flour from the supermarket is used in this tart crust. Don’t use self rising flour.
Unsalted butter - Choose unsalted butter for most baking recipes because you can adjust the salt. If you’ve only got salted butter that’ll be fine in this recipe just omit the added salt.
Sugar - You need both granulated white sugar and dark brown sugar for this Chocolate Almond Pear Tart recipe.
Eggs - Use whatever type of eggs you have in the fridge. I like free range but any will work for this recipe.
Ground almonds - Almond meal will work for this recipe.
Dark chocolate - The slightly bitter taste of dark semi sweet chocolate balances the sweetness in this tart. Use the best chocolate you can afford because this is one of the main flavors in this tart.
Pears - Look for just ripe pears which will be ideal in this Chocolate Almond Pear Tart. Good baking pears varieties are Bartlett (also known as Williams), Bosc or Beurre Bosc, and Anjou pears.
Amaretto liqueur - I always have a small bottle in the pantry because I use it for quite a few recipes (like Piedmontese Bunet and my Mini Trifles). Alternatively, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of almond extract instead.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Butter or spray with non stick spray a 10 inch/ 25cm tart pan with a removable base. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C

Pale yellow creamy mixture in bottom of steel bowl and a pile of flour on top.

Beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add egg yolk and beat in thoroughly. Stir in flour until it forms a soft dough. Don't over mix.

Rolled out pastry under a sheet of parchment paper with one edge of the paper being lifted.

Roll out the dough between two sheets of non stick baking paper; dusting with a little flour underneath and on top of the dough.

Pastry lined tart pan viewed from above.

The dough should be about ¼inch or 6mm thick.Use the pastry to line the tart tin.

Brown creamy mixture being mixed with an electric hand held red mixer.

Combine the ingredients for the filling and spoon into the pastry case smoothing out the top.

A peeled pear, cut in half and cored with one half sliced lengthwise and fanned out.

Peel, halved and core the pears. Then slice lengthwise leaving the slices attached at the tip. Fan slices apart.

Fanned pear slices on a chocolate filling in a tart viewed from above.

Arrange the pears on the tart. Press down lightly.

Bake the tart for 45 minutes or until the filling is firm and the pastry is golden brown. Allow the tart to cool. Then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Hint: For easier slicing and a more firm filling, chill the tart in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Substitutions

Unsalted butter - I always prefer unsalted butter but you can use salted if that is what you have. Don’t add any extra salt to the crust in this case.
Dark chocolate - use milk chocolate if you prefer.
Pears - Omit the pears if you don’t like them. This tart will still be delicious.

Variations

Fruity - try a version with pitted cherries, raspberries or halved apricots insead of pears.
Nutty - use ground hazelnuts instead of ground almonds for a different flavor.
Alcohol - Rum, Scotch or Bourbon also works well in this chocolate pear tart recipe. Alternatively, substitute with a teaspoon vanilla extract.
Gluten Free - make a chocolate almond crust using this gluten free pie crust with unsweetened cocoa powder. For the filling, substitute gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour.

Equipment

As well as the usual baking equipment such as bowls, wooden spoons, spatulas, and measuring cups and spoons, you’ll need a few extra items to make this Chocolate Almond Pear Tart.

While not completely necessary an electric mixer is handy when creaming the butter and sugar. Alternatively, you could use a medium bowl and a wooden spoon to prepare both the crust and the filling. You will need a rolling pin and some non stick parchment paper.

That brings me to the most useful piece of equipment - 10 inch/ 25cm tart tin with a removable base. A pie pan of the same diameter would also be suitable.

Storage

The dough can be frozen after step 3 for up to 1 month. This Chocolate Pear Almond Tart recipe can be prepared a day ahead minus the pears and then refrigerated overnight in a sealed container or well wrapped in plastic. Add the pears and bake the next day.

Leftovers will keep for 3 or 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

Top tips

Overhead view of a tart with fanned slices of pears arranged on top.

Temperature of ingredients - Unlike my Ricotta Pie recipe, this recipe requires the butter to be at room temperature for both the crust and the filling. The butter shouldn’t be so warm that it’s melting but soft enough so that it blends easily with the sugar. This dough is exactly like the dough I use for my Mini Fruit Tarts.
Perfect crust - Take care not to overbeat the butter and sugar. This will add air into the mixture which will make the dough hard to handle. Then add the egg slowly so that it incorporates completely. Finally, be gentle when mixing in the flour and don’t over-mix.
Pears - The fanned pears on the top of the pear tart aren’t as difficult as they look. After peeling, halving and coring the pears, place the pear cut side down on a chopping board. Using a small sharp knife, start ½" down from the stem and make lengthwise slices ensuring that the slices remain attached near the stem. Then gently slide and fan the slices out.
Option for pears - Instead of fanned pears, arrange thin pear slices in a concentric circle on top of the filling.

FAQ

Close up of a slice of chocolate tart on a white plate.

What kind of pears should I use?

I like to use Bosc or Beurre Bosc pears. But there are some other pears that are excellent for baking are Bartlett (also known as Williams) and Anjou pears. For this Chocolate Almond Pear Tart the pears should be perfectly ripe. Too ripe and they’ll be mushy but not ripe enough they may not soften completely during baking.

Do I really need a tart pan to make a tart or can I use a pie pan?

No, you can use a pie pan for this Chocolate Almond Pear Tart. A tart pan with a removable base does make a nice presentation but isn’t absolutely necessary. Either way, butter the tart pan or pie pan very well so that the tart doesn’t stick. Alternatively, use non stick cooking spray.

What’s the difference between a pie and a tart?

While a pie and a tart are incredibly similar they are different. A pie can be single or double crusted which means crust on the bottom and the top with filling in the middle. Plus, a pie is baked in a pie pan that has sloping sides and served directly from the pie pan.
Whereas, a tart is baked in a straight sided shallow pan and removed from the pan for serving. Also, a tart doesn’t usually have an upper crust.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Torta della Nonna
Chocolate Tart
Sicilian Cheesecake
Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with Chocolate Almond Pear Tart:

Stewed Pears
Poached Pears in Red Wine

Made this recipe?
Let me know if you liked it by leaving a ★★★★★ star rating and a review below. Please share a photo of your creation by tagging me on Instagram @marcellina.in.cucina!

Recipe

This updated and improved recipe was first published on Marcellina in Cucina on June 8, 2018.