Tom Kerridge's Pear and Chocolate Frangipane Tart

1. Start by making the pastry. Using an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until smooth and pale. Reduce the speed then slowly add the flour and cocoa powder, followed by the egg yolk, mixing until just incorporated. 
2. Bring it together with your hands, and then transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball and flatten to a disc. Wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour to firm up. 
3. When the pastry has chilled, dust your work surface lightly with flour and roll out the pastry into a large 28cm circle with the thickness of a £1 coin. Gently lift the pastry into a 24cm loose-based tart tin, pushing it into the edges. Roll a rolling pin over the top of the tin to trim the edges and cut away the excess pastry. Put in the fridge to chill. 
4. Preheat the oven to 170C fan and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up.
5. To melt the chocolate, heat about 4 cm of water in a medium saucepan. Break up the chocolate into small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the pan making sure the base doesn't touch the hot water. Let the pan simmer gently for 4-5 mins until all the chocolate in the bowl has melted. 
6. Next, make the frangipane filling. Put the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl and cream together using an electric whisk, beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating briefly after each one to incorporate. Add the ground almonds and flour and whisk again briefly until evenly mixed. Pour in the melted chocolate and vanilla paste, and whisk again until combined. 
7. Take the pastry tart case out of the fridge, and spoon in the frangipane filling. Spread the mixture evenly throughout the pastry case with the back of a spoon then lay the pear wedges on top. Finally sprinkle over the flaked almonds. 
8. Place the tart onto the hot baking tray and bake on the middle oven shelf for 1 hour. 
9. Remove from the oven and leave the tart to stand for 10 minutes. Brush the tart with maple syrup and dust lightly with cocoa powder. 
10. To make the Chantilly cream, whisk the cream, sugar and vanilla seeds together in a bowl until lightly whipped. 
11. To serve, cut the tart into neat slices and serve warm with a generous dollop of cream on top. 

Tom's Tip:

If pears aren't in season, tinned or jarred pears will work just as well in this recipe.