INGREDIENTS:9 1/3 oz. bitter chocolate
6 oz. butter
91/3 oz. sugar
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
3 pears, peeled, poached and pureed
1 shot Grand Marnier
6-8 pears peeled, halved and thinly sliced
Chocolate Tart Dough:
9 oz. cocoa powder
32 oz. all-purpose flour
20 oz. sugar
20 oz. butter
4 whole eggsDIRECTIONS:Melt and cool chocolate and butter. Combine sugar and egg yolks and add to chocolate. Beat egg whites until stiff, and fold into chocolate. Mix pear puree and Grand Marnier. Line two tart pans with chocolate pastry dough and cover with thin layer of pureed pear. Arrange pear slices on top of puree and cover with chocolate mixture. Bake at 300°F for 40 minutes.
Combine cocoa, flour and sugar. Cut butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Beat eggs and cut into flour mixture. Form dough into 13-oz. balls. Wrap in plastic, flatten into disks and store in freezer. This dough tends to be very soft, so roll while somewhat chilled, using a lot of flour. Pre-bake in tart pan lined with parchment and beans at 300°F for 15 minutes.SERVINGS:2 tartsFrom:Chef /owner Tom Kee, The Rail Stop Restaurant, The Plains, Va.PHOTO CREDIT:Photo Credit: THE RAIL STOP
