Ingredients

• 120g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 40g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm pieces
• 120ml pouring cream
• 2 eggs
• 60g (1/2 cup) almond meal
• 90g caster sugar
• 20g plain flour
• Double cream, to serve

Chocolate shortcrust pastry

• 150g (1 cup) plain flour
• 100g Dutch cocoa powder
• 125g unsalted butter, chopped, at room temperature
• 90g pure icing sugar
• 30g (1/4 cup) almond meal
• 1 egg

Poached pears

• 1L (4 cups) water
• 200g caster sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
• 2 ripe pears (such as williams or beurre bosc), peeled

Method

• Step 1 For the pastry, sift the flour and cocoa into a bowl and stir to combine. Use electric beaters to beat the butter, icing sugar, almond meal and egg until smooth. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating until mixture just forms a dough. Shape into a rectangle and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 1 hour to rest.
• Step 2 For the poached pears, pour the water into a saucepan that fits the pears snugly. Add sugar and vanilla pod and seeds. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Place the pears in the pan. Cover with a round of baking paper and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the pears are just tender. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until chilled.

• Step 3 Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan forced. Lightly grease an 11.5 x 35cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin with removable base. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 20 x 45cm rectangle. Line the prepared tin with the pastry. Trim any excess. Line the pastry with a sheet of baking paper and fill with pastry weights or rice. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until firm. Remove paper and weights or rice and bake for a further 5-7 minutes or until the pastry is dry to touch. Set aside to cool.
• Step 4 Place the chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just simmering. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate mixture and set aside for 1-2 minutes to melt. Stir until smooth. Stir in the eggs and almond meal. Fold through the sugar and flour until well combined.
• Step 5 Spread chocolate mixture into cooled tart shell. Halve pears, remove cores and cut crossways into 6mm-thick slices. Arrange on top of tart, fanning the slices. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the filling is set. Set aside for at least 10 minutes to cool slightly.
• Step 6 Cut the warm tart into 6-8 slices and serve with the double cream.