Pear and Chocolate Tarts

It's the time of year for garden fruit, in quantity, and some of it cannot be stored, like pears.   Pears in general are tricky - they seem to pass from rock to ripe at midnight, so it's good to have a quick and easy pudding up your sleeve that takes advantage of this precious moment!

Some lovely friends of mine were staying, and this was an idea that harnessed the fruit, some puff pastry and a good handful of chocolate pieces.    It also took incredibly little time and the resulting tarts tasted great.  You could do them without chocolate so they would be suitable for diabetics.

Pear and Chocolate Tarts

Pear and Chocolate Tarts

1 pack ready to roll puff pastry

1 egg yolk, beaten

4oz/110g chocolate chunks

2 large pears, each peeled and cut into 12 slices

1 tbsp caster sugar

2tbsp apricot jam, warmed

Handful of toasted flaked almonds

2oz/50g plain chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C.     Line a baking tin with non-stick parchment.

Unroll the pastry and cut it into six large oblongs, marking a smaller oblong inside the larger one (about ½”/1.5cm), to make a border.  Brush the border with the beaten egg yolk.

Within the border of the tartlet, divide up the chocolate chunks.   Arrange the pears over the top and dust lightly with caster sugar.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until the border has risen and is golden brown, and the fruit cooked but not browned.    Remove from the oven and brush the pears with the warmed (semi-liquid) apricot jam.   Next, scatter the nuts on top.  Lastly, melt the plain chocolate and drizzle it over each tart. 

Eat hot or cold, with lashings of custard/ice cream or home made chocolate sauce.