Pear tart with Pastis and bergamot
Makes 6 tarts
Pate Sucrée
75 g butter at room temperature
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Hazelnut sponge
60g hazelnuts
50g + 25g cane sugar
20g egg yolk
75g egg whites
50g butter, melted
35g all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 generous pinch of salt
Bergamot olive oil ganache
160g citrusy, fruity dark chocolate, chopped
20g glucose syrup
75ml heavy cream
100ml bergamot olive oil (I recommend this)
Pinch of salt
Pastis poached pear
4 ripe, but firm pears
500ml water
125ml Pastis
125g sugar
Tart shells: Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shells for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the tart shells.
Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.
Hazelnut sponge: Preheat oven to 175C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Toast the hazelnuts until golden brown, about 15 minutes, and leave to cool before grinding to nut flour.
Mix together the hazelnut flour, 50g of cane sugar and egg yolk in a bowl and whisk in the melted butter.
Sieve together flour, baking powder and salt and mix into the batter. Whisk the egg whites with the remaining 25g of sugar to soft peaks and fold into the batter until the batter falls from the spatula.
Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out to about 1cm thickness. Bake for 5-6 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack. Cut out 6 rounds of cake that fit inside the cooled tart shells.
Bergamot olive oil ganache: Add the chopped chocolate to a heat proof bowl. Bring cream and glucose to a boil over medium heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir with a spatula in the centre until the chocolate is melted, and continue to stir while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. If mixture begins to split, emulsify using an immersion blender. Season with salt to taste. Pour the ganache into a piping bag and pour over the hazelnut sponges in the tart shells. Leave to set.
Poached pear: Heat the water, Pastis and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and remove from heat. Slice the pears thinly on a mandolin and add to the warm liquid and cook until just tender, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid from the pears. Cut out discs of pear and arrange on the ganache tarts.
Serve immediately.