Dark Chocolate Pear & Walnut Tart is so incredible elegant and delicious, but the best part is that it’s not hard to make either. Impress your guests with this delectable dessert.
Still looking for a fun Valentine’s treat to make for your honey? How about this super easy and incredibly decadent tart?
I recently received a giant box of gorgeous Bosc pears from Harry & David and they were screaming out to me to do something with them….again. I had made some gluten free chocolate brownies with caramelized pears a few days ago, which I will need to make again and share with you because they were incredible.
Harry & David added me to their fruit of the month club and I am loving it. Last month was Honey Bell mandarins….so juicy they come with a bib. This month’s pears were – Bosc pears and they needed to be used.
How to poach pears
Start by peeling 2 pears and core with a melon baller. Bring Moscato wine and 1/2 vanilla bean to a boil and slip the pears in and poach for 20 to 25 minutes in the simmering vanilla wine. Remove and allow to cool.
How to make this recipe
To make the walnut crust I used walnut halves that I toasted briefly in the oven to bring out their sweet nuttiness. I then mixed them with gluten free all purpose flour, sugar and butter.
Pulse it in the food processor for a bit until it comes out like coarse meal. Bits of butter are a good thing.
Press in to a springform pan and up the sides about an inch or 2 with your fingers and bake for 15 minutes. Let the crust cool for 15 or 20 minutes. This gives you time to work with the chocolate ganache filling and the pears.
In a small saucepan add the dark chocolate and heavy cream. Warm over medium low heat. Don’t boil, just warm until the chocolate looks soft. Refrain from stirring until you’re certain that the chocolate is softened. Stir briskly until smooth.
Pour into the baked walnut crust. Slice the pears width-wise and carefully place them in the chocolate ganache. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or more if desired. Bring almost to room temperature before serving. Slice and devour!
Dark Chocolate Pear & Walnut Tart
Ingredients
For Crust:
- ⅔ cup walnut halves - toasted for 5 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- 1 cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter - cold & cut into chunks
- pinch of kosher salt
For Pears:
- 2 Bosc pears - peeled, halved & cored
- 2 cups Moscato wine
- ½ vanilla bean - split
For Ganache:
- 10 ounces dark chocolate - coarsely chopped (or semi-sweet)
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
For Crust:
- Add the toasted walnuts to a food processor and process just until fine. Over processing with result in walnut butter, so be careful. Add the flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until it resembles coarse meal, about 5 times.
- Pour the walnut mixture into a springform pan and press lightly into the bottom and up the sides by 2 inches. The mixture will be crumbly at first but will press into a crust.
- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack. Remove outer ring and cool for 20 more minutes.
For Pears:
- Bring the Moscato and vanilla bean to a boil, slide in the pear halves and lower the temperature to medium low and cover. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the pears are fork tender. Remove to a bowl and allow to cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
For Ganache:
- Add the chocolate and cream to a small saucepan and set over medium low heat. Don’t stir. Allow the chocolate to get soft and once it looks shiny and soft remove from the heat and stir briskly until smooth.
- Pour into the cooled walnut crust. Slice the pears width wise and place them into the ganache carefully so they don’t sink. Repeat with remaining pear halves. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Bring slightly to room temperature before serving.
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Recipe By:
Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather…
Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.
I really love this recipe and hope you will too!
what a gorgeous dessert. . I love pears! Pinned!
does this freeze well?
Hi Anna – I have no idea, as I’ve never frozen it before. Let me know if you try it.
Simply lovely. I love desserts like this.
What a beautiful dessert. Those pears are gorgeous with the chocolate.
Thank you Erika. It was fun to make. Happy Valentine’s Day!!
What a gorgeous dessert! I love the dark chocolate and pear combination!
Thank you Jessica!! pears and chocolate just seem to work great together.
That is gorgeous! Happy Valentine’s Day Heather!
thanks sweet Jenny!! 🙂 Happy V Day to you too. Any fun plans?
So gorgeous! Happy Valentine’s Day!
thank you Miss. happy Valentine’s Day to you too sweets. I hope it’s a fabulous day!! XO friend.
This is seriously gorgeous!
thanks darlin. it was seriously deadly to my waistline too. I somehow baked it with a voice. It kept calling my name. 🙂
This is absolute genius! My two favorites whether separate or together, but this “togetherness” is pure perfection! And the special crust is a genuine complement. Plus, the finished product looks divine! You have a permanent fan!
Thank you Mary!! 🙂 I love chocolate and pears together too! I have a gluten free brownie recipe with caramelized pears that’s so good. I need to make them again to photograph – we ate them too fast to get a pic. 🙂 Glad you are here!! Thanks for commenting. xo Heather