To make the pastry, sieve the flour, icing sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl (I usually sieve straight into the bowl of my electric). On a low speed, or by hand, work the butter into the flour mixture, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the egg, vanilla and milk, and mix gently. Try to avoid over-working the dough. Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Lightly grease your tart tin/s and set aside.
In a microwave-proof dish, microwave the pears for 5 minutes until tender. Allow to cool slightly and then slice thinly.
While the pears cook, preheat oven to 120°C and prepare the chocolate filling:
Place the chocolate in a mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water and melt, stirring occasionally. Then add the cream, milk and salt and stir to combine . Set aside.
Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and add to the mixture.
Remove pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface to about ½ cm thick and line the tin/s or dish.
Prick the surface a few times with a fork and place in the freezer for about 15 minutes (to avoid blind-baking).
Remove your pastry-lined tart dish from the freezer, and lay the pear slices inside the pastry base/s, before pouring over the chocolate mixture.
Bake at 120°C for approximately 45 minutes, remove from the oven and cool.
Tip: You can double the pastry and freeze half for up to 2 months to use when you need it. For easy filling and baking, freeze the dough already in a pie dish if you have one spare.
Reprinted with permission of
Sarah Graham. To visit
Sarah Graham 's blog, click
here.
