Baked Chocolate and Pear Tart with Caramel Liqueur Sauce

    A luxurious winter dessert that brings together a range of textures, from soft poached pears to a rich, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate filling. Finished with a warm caramel liqueur sauce, this tart is pure cold-weather comfort.

    Worth the Effort

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    Ingredients

    For the Pastry:

    375g cake flour
    1⁄2 tsp baking powder
    75g cocoa powder
    125g brown sugar
    185g Stork White Baking Margarine
    125g golden syrup
    1 egg

    For the Poached Pears:

    2 pears
    2 tbsp honey
    1 tbsp brown sugar
    2 cups water
    1⁄4 tsp vanilla paste or seeds of 1 pod

    For the Chocolate Filling:

    70g Stork White Baking Margarine
    90g 70% dark chocolate
    35g cocoa powder, sifted
    1/8 tsp sea salt
    2 eggs
    95g castor sugar
    2 tbsp maple syrup
    30g full cream yogurt

    For the Caramel Liqueur Sauce:

    120g brown sugar
    40g Stork White Baking Margarine
    60ml caramel liqueur (or cream for a non-alcoholic version)
    1⁄2 tsp vanilla
    1⁄4 tsp salt

    Step by step method

    1. Make the Pastry:

    2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar.
    3. Rub in Stork until crumbly.
    4. Add the egg and syrup, bring the dough together.
    5. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 1 hour.
    6. Press into a 20cm tart tin (about 5mm thick).
    7. Blind bake at 180°C for 20–25 minutes. Cool.

    8. Poach the Pears:

    9. Combine honey, brown sugar, vanilla and water in a saucepan.
    10. Add the pears and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
    11. Remove, cool and slice thinly.

    12. Prepare the Filling:

    13. Gently melt Stork, chocolate, cocoa and salt in a bowl over simmering water.
    14. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and castor sugar until light and fluffy.
    15. Mix in maple syrup and yogurt.
    16. Fold in the chocolate mixture gently, keeping as much air as possible.

    17. Assemble & Bake:

    18. Pour the chocolate filling into the cooled tart shell.
    19. Layer sliced pears on top.
    20. Bake at 160°C for 35–40 minutes. Allow to cool.

    21. Make the Caramel Liqueur Sauce:

    22. Heat sugar in a saucepan until melted and golden.
    23. Whisk in the Stork, then slowly add the caramel liqueur.
    24. Stir in vanilla and salt. Pour into a jug.

    25. Serve:

    26. Slice and serve the tart with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of warm caramel liqueur sauce.