Chocolate, Pear and Ginger Tart

I'm kind of cheating again, I did make this tart in January when I met up with some friends, and it was my 'thank you for hosting present'. And then when I got home I was going to blog about it, because it was from my Green & Black's cookbook!

But then this phenomenon called laziness took over and I decided to take a nap instead.

I mean, it's not like I've been sleeping for the last two months, I just never got round to it ;) But it's perfect because I've performing in a dance show tomorrow and in between pirouetting around the stage at trying to calculate multiple game theory equilibria (sadly not simultaneously, now THAT would be time saving), I haven't really had time to bake (I know, I know, if my cake tin had emotions, it would be weeping from neglect).

But anyway, here it is, in all of its ginger and pear and chocolate glory, ready to be baked by wonderful people like YOU! :)

When I made this, I was rapidly running out of things from the Green & Black's cookbook that I hadn't made yet, and there were only things like "chilli chocolate turkey" and "chilli lime chocolate bread" (I somehow always end up touching my eyes after cooking with chillies, and end up crying for about an hour, so I'm saving those recipes till last. Or until I get some industrial strength gloves). Or there were a lot of ginger related recipes (hence the Javanese Ginger Squares). So I guess this would do (in the yummiest sense of the words 'would do', of course!).

This photo isn't me trying to be all artsy and 50's sepia-effect loving (did you even think it was artsy?), it was just me trying to salvage the best out of a photo taken with artificial lighting, which made it go all yellow and (unfortunately) made the tart look like a pile of poo.

There, I said it. Is that a taboo thing to say in the world of food blogs?

Probably.

This was another attempt at using photoshop to fix the artificial lighting problem, except now the chocolate bit here looks suspiciously purple...

***************

This was me making the cake, and when I made the batter it made a pretty yin-yang symbol, so (what else?) took a photo of it:

It's meant to symbolise how opposites are complementary and work together in harmony. If it's talking about my chocolate-ginger combination, then it was surely a good omen.

When I made the pastry I didn't completely drape it over the tin in the centre (but don't try and move it, as it will probably break, and then you'll end up with patchy bits on the bottom of your tart). Those excess bits hanging off the left side, once baked chopped off, make excellent dippers for nutella. Really, try it!

p.s. if you don't like ginger, just leave it out. I won't mind...much :)

Lesson learned today: when you're procrastinating from practising dances or solving equations, blog. Blog your heart out and then go back to the library.

Chocolate, Pear and Ginger Tart from the Green & Black’s cookbook Prep time: 1 hour? Cooking time: 1 hour…ish Use a 28cm tart tin Serves: 10 Shortcrust Pastry: 250g plain flour 1 teaspoon salt 110g Unsalted b utter 2 large egg yolks 4-5 tablespoons cold water Filling: 125g unsalted butter 125g caster sugar 2 large eggs 100g dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa solids) 1 dessert spoon finely chopped preserved ginger in syrup 25g plain flour 125g ground almonds 4 just ripe pears <--this is important! It will cook funny otherwise! apricot jam to glaze Chocolate sauce or ice cream to serve Preheat oven to 180C degrees. Make the pastry, sift the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter and rub into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. In a small bowl whisk together the yolks and the cold water (add a little bit at a time) briefly then add to the mixture. Mix until they come together as a ball, wrap the dough in greaseproof paper and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling out to line you tin. Bake the pastry blind by covering it with greaseproof paper and filling with baking beans (I used old out-of-date yellow beans) for about 15-20 minutes or until lightly coloured. Remove the pastry and lower the heat to 160C. This is where you can chop off the excess bits and eat them, the heat will melt the nutella and it will be the best thing ever. To make the filling, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs and slowly add to the mix. Melt the chocolate over simmering water (or use the microwave method), allow to cool for a few minutes before adding to the mix with the ginger. Mix in the flour and almonds and leave to cool before spreading over the pastry base. Halve, peel and core the pears. Slice into wedges and arrange in a fan shape on top of the chocolate mix, pressing lightly. Bake for around 30-40 minutes, and test that the filling is cooked by inserting a skewer into the centre, which should come out clean. Brush with apricot jam while still hot and serve warm or cold, with chocolate sauce or ice cream (or nutella :).

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