December is National Pear Month, and we’re celebrating the monthlong food holiday in Kylee’s Kitchen.

Pears are an often underutilized fall and winter fruit, and poaching them is a simple way to make them tender and flavorful.

Poached pear chocolate tart

Yield: One 9-inch tart

Ingredients for sweet tart dough

  • 200 grams all-purpose flour
  • 80 grams powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3.5 ounces (7 Tablespoons) Challenge European unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 30 grams almond meal

Ingredients for the poached pears

  • 1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
  • 1 (750 milliliter) bottle white wine
  • 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 4 strips orange peel
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 teaspoons cloves
  • 2 star anise pods
  • 6 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths

Ingredients for the chocolate frangipane

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 120 grams (1 1/4 cup) almond meal
  • 120 grams (1/2 cup) Nutella or similar chocolate spread
  • 50 grams (1/2 stick) Challenge unsalted butter, melted

Directions for the sweet tart dough

  1. Sift flour, powered sugar, salt and baking powder, and add to mixing bowl with paddle attachment.  
  2. Add butter and mix on medium speed until mealy.  
  3. Add egg and once dough begins to come together, add almond meal and mix until dough comes together.  
  4. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for minimum of 2 hours and up to 2 days.

Directions for the poached pears

  1. Pour red wine into one medium saucepan and white wine into another medium saucepan.
  2. Add 100 grams granulated sugar, 2 strips orange peel, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1 star anise pod to the saucepan with the red wine. Add remaining orange peel, cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise pod to the saucepan with the white wine.
  3. Bring both saucepans to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
  4. Add half the pear slices to the red wine and half the pear slices to the white wine.
  5. Simmer pear slices. Turn off heat and allow pears to soak in poaching liquid until cool.

Directions for the chocolate frangipane

  1. Beat eggs and egg yolk. 
  2. Mix in almond meal, chocolate spread, and butter. Set aside.

Directions for assembly

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thick and place in tart pan. Press down into corners.
  3. Line dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and remove pie weights. 
  5. Prick bottom and sides of pie dough with fork. 
  6. Bake another 10 minutes and remove from oven. Let tart shell cool.
  7. Spread frangipane evenly in tart.
  8. Arrange pears onto filling in circular pattern.
  9. Bake 45 minutes or until frangipane puffs up and envelops pears. Monitor tart—if edges brown too much, cover with aluminum foil.
  10. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
  11. Carefully remove tart from pan. Serve with crushed pistachios and creme fraiche if desired.