Bring pears, sugar, water and lemon juice up to a simmer. Cook pear just below a simmer (and place a plate or piece of parchment over surface of liquid to keep pears from floating) until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. After pears have cooled a bit, remove from liquid, sprinkle with brandy, toss and chill until ready to serve.
To prepare crust, cream butter and sugar together. Stir in egg yolks, adding one at a time. Sift together flour, cocoa and salt and add to butter mixture. Mix until dough just comes together. Shape in to a disc and chill until ready to roll. If preparing ahead of time, pull dough from fridge an hour before rolling.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to just over ¼-inch (.5 cm) thick. Line a 9-inch (23 cm) removable-bottom tart shell with dough, trim edges and chill for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Dock pastry with a fork and bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 F (160 C). Place chopped chocolate in a large bowl. Heat cream with spices to just below a simmer and pour over chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then stir slowly. Stir in vanilla extract.
Whisk egg in a small cup then stir into chocolate. Pour into chocolate shell and bake for 12 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes, then chill for 2 hours before serving.
To garnish with pears, slice, pears thinly and arrange over tart.
This was absolutely revolting. Served it as an alternative to Christmas Pudding on Christmas Day and not one of the 10 of us had more than a mouthful. What is with the cardamon? And what a faff to cook as well. Avoid this recipe.
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This was absolutely revolting. Served it as an alternative to Christmas Pudding on Christmas Day and not one of the 10 of us had more than a mouthful. What is with the cardamon? And what a faff to cook as well. Avoid this recipe.