Spiced Apple Pear Christmas Tart
This Spiced Apple Pear Christmas Tart is a comforting delightful dessert perfect for the winter holiday gatherings! Thet tart is made with a buttery cocoa crust, with a crunchy chocolate almond layer topped with a spiced apple pear compote and a soft white chocolate cream.
Ingredients
Makes about 12 servings
Cocoa Tart Crust
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (140g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (70g) sugar
- 1/4 tsp (1g) salt
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ¼ (160g) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (40g) cocoa powder
Crunchy Layer
- 3 tbsp (35g) semisweet chocolate
- 1 tbsp (14ml) vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup (20g) almond flakes
Apple Pear Compote
- 1 ¾ cup (200g) cubed apples
- 1 ¾ cup (200g) cubed pears
- 2 tbsp (30ml) lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp (30ml) water
- 3 tsp (9g) ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp (4g) ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp (2g) ginger
- 1/2 tsp (2g) ground cloves
White Chocolate Mascarpone Cream
- 1 cup (240g) Mascarpone cheese
- 2 tbsp (30g) powdered sugar
- 4.5 oz (130g) white chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup (60ml) whipping cream
For Decoration, optional
- sugar cookie stars
- pecans
- sprinkles
Instructions
Prepare the cocoa tart crust.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. You can also use a hand mixer.
- Add the sugar, all at once and beat on medium speed until creamy and combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, and mix well after each one.
- Add the flour, cocoa, and salt and mix on medium speed until the dough comes together.
- Put it in a plastic film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
- Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until it's about 0.2 inches (5 mm) thick.
- Press the dough onto the bottom and edges of the tart pan. Cut the excess dough. Prick it all over with a fork.
- Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.
- Cover the dough (bottom and edges) with parchment paper. Fill the center with pie weights, rice or beans.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until firm. Let it cool on a rack.
- If you have leftover dough, you can make some stars with a cookie cutter for decoration.
Prepare the almond chocolate crunch layer.
- Place semisweet chocolate and oil over a bain marie, and let it melt completely.
- Fold in the almond flakes.
- Spread the mixture over the bottom of the tart crust.
Prepare the apple pear filling.
- Peel, core, and dice the apples and pears into little cubes.
- In a large saucepan, over low to medium heat, put the spices, sugar, lemon juice, water, and the cubed fruits.
- Cook for about 10 minutes, until they come all together and begin to soften slightly. Let it cool.
- Pour the filling over the crust and level it with a small spatula.
Prepare the white chocolate mascarpone cream.
- In a large bowl, mix mascarpone and powdered sugar until combined.
- Bring the whipping cream to a boil.
- Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate and mix to combine.
- Pour the hot white chocolate mixture over the mascarpone and mix at high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Pipe even dollops of white chocolate cream on top of the tart.
- Decorate as you please. You can use cookie stars, pecans, crispy pearls, chocolate chips, etc. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving out of 12Calories: 365kcalCarbohydrates: 40.7gProtein: 6.8gFat: 20.6gSaturated Fat: 10.9gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 146mgFiber: 2.9gSugar: 26g