*  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                           Chocolate-Pear Tart

Recipe By     : California Cooking: Parties, Picnics & Celebrations
Serving Size  : 6    Preparation Time :2:00
Categories    : Cake                             Fruit
                Black Tie                        Menu

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
                        SHORTBREAD CRUST--

   9      tablespoons   unsalted butter
   9      tablespoons   confectioners' sugar -- sifted
   1-1/2  cups          all-purpose flour -- sifted unbleached

                        CHOCOLATE LAYER--

   6      ounces        semisweet chocolate -- or bittersweet
   2      tablespoons   unsalted butter

                        POACHED PEARS--

   2      cups          water
   1      cup           sugar
   1      teaspoon      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      tablespoons   curaçao -- orange liqueur or
                        pear brandy
                        GARNISH--
     1/4  cup           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 350°F.  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.

©1986 by Los Angeles County Museum of Art. NY:
Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.
[mc-recipe: patH Sep 96]

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NOTES: Menu "Black Tie Dinner in Beverly Hills" A dramatic dessert, suitable
for any special occasion, combines two of our true loves -- fresh fruit and
chocolate.  Makes one 10-inch tart.  By using a springform pan, the shortbread
crust can stand on its own -- serving on a silvered platter is 'tres elegante'