It was more than a decade ago when renowned Vancouver chocolatier and pastry chef Thomas Haas realized it was his life-long dream to prepare fine handcrafted chocolates and pastries. He has since become one of Vancouver’s finest and he’s in the CTV Kitchen making a delicious pear almond tart.www.thomashaas.com

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Shortbread

 

  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1½ cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour 1 egg, beaten, only half
  • of which may be needed

 

Black Currant Jam

 

  • ½ cup black currant purée
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp sugar

 

Almond Cream

 

  • 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp (7 oz) unsalted butter
  • 1½ cups + 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • 1½ cups blanched ground almonds
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 2 to 3 tbsp slivered
  • almonds for garnish
  • cinnamon for dusting

 

kalamansi-poached Pears

 

  • 2⅔ cups sugar
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 piece star anise
  • 2 vanilla beans, slit lengthwise
  • ½ cup kalamansi purée
  • 5 bartlett pears

 

Shortbread

 

Cream together sugar, butter and salt in a bowl. Add flour without overmixing the dough. Add only enough egg, mixing gently, to hold the dough together. Gather the dough into a ball and flatten, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

 

Black Currant Jam

 

Combine black currant purée and sugar in a pot on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stir and remove from the heat. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, discard solids and allow to cool before using.

 

Almond Cream

 

Have all of the ingredients at room temperature. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to cream together butter and sugar. Remove the bowl from the mixer.

 

Combine ground almonds and cornstarch in another bowl. Alternately add almond mixture and beaten eggs to the butter mixture, stirring just until combined.

 

kalamansi-poached Pears

 

To make the poaching liquid, pour sugar into a heavy pot on medium heat and do not stir. As the sugar begins to caramelize, shake and swirl the pan gently to prevent the sugar from burning in any one spot. Once the sugar has melted into a rich caramel brown, deglaze the pan slowly and carefully with water, as the mixture will splatter. Stir until sugar is totally dissolved. Add star anise, vanilla beans and kalamansi purée.

 

Peel and core pears, add to the poaching liquid, then simmer until tender. Remove from the heat and place a plate over the pears to keep them submerged in the poaching liquid as they cool.

 

To Assemble

 

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out shortbread dough into a circle 11½ inches in diameter and 1/8-inch thick. Use it to line a 9-inch tart pan (with removable bottom). Cut off excess dough and crimp around the edge.

 

Pipe or spread black currant jam on the bottom of the tart. Next, pipe or spread a layer of almond cream to within three-quarters of the top. Cut poached pears in half, then slice each half vertically into about eight pieces. Keeping the slices together, arrange pears on top of almond cream to cover. Sprinkle the top with slivered almonds and a dusting of cinnamon. Bake in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the centre of the tart is set. Remove from the oven.

 

To Serve

 

Serve the tart at room temperature. Cut into eight wedges and place each on a warmed serving plate.