Chocolate and pear tart

Gluten, lactose, milk, nightshade, peanut, sesame, soya & wheat free; can be nut free

Watch Michelle making this rather delicious pear and chocolate tart.

Serves 6

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Ingredients

  • 100g ground almonds
  • 100g plain gluten-free flour (we used Doves Farm) - or, if you want it to be nut free, 200g gluten-free flour and no almondds
  • 100g dairy-free spread or vegetable baking fat such as Stork or Trex
  • 6 small ripe pears
  • 225g dairy free chocolate – we used 85% Lindt for a really intense chocolate flavour – go for a 70% chocolate if you prefer something less intense.
  • 4 tbsp hot water
  • 150g muscovado sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 25–30cm flan case

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4
  2. Mix the flour with the ground almonds, (if you are using them) and cut in the fat, either by hand/with a knife or in a food processor.
  3. If the fat is soft you probably will not need any water but if the mixture is a little dry and crumbly add 2 tbsp cold water and press into a ball.
  4. To line you flan dish you can either roll the pastry out between two sheets of flour-dusted cling film or just press the paste out with your hands making sure that it is fairly even and pushing it up the sides of the flan dish.
  5. Line the pastry with a piece of foil and fill the dish with beans to weight it down then bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans for the last five minutes to crisp up the pastry.
  6. Meanwhile, cut the bottom off the pears so that they stand straight and peel them about 1/3 of the way up. Set aside.
  7. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
  8. Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks with the sugar until they are light and fluffy. Ideally you can do this with a hand electric whisk although it does not take too long if you use a hand whisk – just rather more effort!
  9. Whisk the egg whites until they hold their shape in soft peaks.
  10. Mix the hot water into the chocolate and then the chocolate into the egg yolk and sugar mixture. Don't worry if it goes slightly granular, it will be fine when cooked.
  11. Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and fold in the rest.
  12. Pour around 2/3 of the chocolate mixture into the flan dish then arrange the pears sitting in the mixture. Spoon the extra mixture round the pears. (You make have some over in which case it makes lovely chocolate pots! Spoon into ramekin dishes and bake for 10 minutes.)
  13. Return to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes. The chocolate should be set on the outside but still gooey in the middle.
  14. Serve warm or at room temperature, alone or with whatever cream or ice cream you can eat.

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