Ingredients
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Directions
: shortbread crust--
9 TB unsalted butter
9 TB confectioners' sugar --
: sifted
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour -- sifted
: unbleached
: CHOCOLATE LAYER--
6 oz semisweet chocolate -- or
: bittersweet
2 TB unsalted butter
: POACHED PEARS--
2 c water
1 c sugar
1 ts vanilla extract
1 strip lemon peel -- (3
: inch)
1/2 cinnamon stick
: Splash of Cognac
4 pears -- Bosc
: GLAZE--
1 jar apricot preserves -- (12
: ounce)
2 TB cura=E7ao -- orange liqueur
: or
: pear brandy
: GARNISH--
1/4 c sliced almonds -- toasted
To make the shortbread crust, cream together the butter and sugar.
Blend in= the flour to make a soft dough. Add 1 more tablespoon
butter if the mixture= will not incorporate all the flour.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Pat the dough evenly by hand into the
bottom and= 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the sides of a 10-inch springform
pan. Prick well= with a fork. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden
brown. Let cool= completely.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering
water.= Spread on the bottom and up the side a little to hide the
'seam' of the the= tart shell and let cool until the chocolate
hardens.
To Prepare Pears: peel, stem, halve, and core the pears. (Photo tells
me= that the pears were peeled by slicing; the roundness is sharpened
into an= 8-sided geometry that is quite attractive.)
Bring the water and sugar to a boil over medium heat in a large
saucepan,= stirring only until the sugar is dissolved. Add the
vanilla, lemon peel,= cinnamon and Cognac and cook for 5 minutes. Add
the pears and poach for 10= to 15 minutes, until they can be easily
pierces with a sharp paring knife.= Let cool in the syrup.
For the glaze, put the apricot preserves in a food processor fitted
with the= steel blade and process until smooth. Strain and add the
liqueur.
To assemble, drain the pears well, pat them dry, cut crosswise into
l/4-inch= slices (as evenly as possible across all pears) and arrange
carefully in= the tart shell, stem ends at the center. (Photo shows
7-halves ~- not all 8= -- in the wheel.) Brush the pears with some of
the apricot glaze and= sprinkle with the toasted almonds.
Use a warm or heated sharp knife to cut wedges.
(c) 1986 by Los Angeles County Museum of Art. NY: Clarkson N. Potter,
Inc. [mc-recipe: patH Sep 96]
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Servings: 6 servings
Chocolate-Pear Tart Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chocolate; Dessert; Pear
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to prove the history of transcribed cooking instructions back into antiquity, at least as far back into history as the early Egyptians, and potentially, even further back. Interesting though that maybe, in the main part, these ancient records were just simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing food.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe in existence, according to historians are a few ancient tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making those who drank it feel blissful and exhilarated. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, there were a couple of recipe books from the 1300s - one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Despite their titles, these books are nothing to do with the indian food that we all know today, but instead recipes for the types of meals served to the nobility of those days. Over the next few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Europe competed to serve the best banquets, and as a consequence, cooks and their recipes were greatly in demand. However, it wasn`t until the 1800s that haute cuisine and cookery books became popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to collating, testing, and writing down recipes to allow everyone to enjoy them. When we get to the 20th century, cookery publications are highly popular due to more people being able to read, more free time and having more money. |
We hope you enjoy this Chocolate Pear Tart recipe.
