This incredible vegan chocolate pear frangipane tart is like a brownie pie, with crisp chocolate pastry, fudgy chocolate frangipane and jammy poached pears.
It is incredible served with ice cream for an autumnal dessert.
I absolutely adore frangipane and have made quite a few different varieties for the blog. This chocolate version is so, so good! The addition of melted dark chocolate and cocoa powder gives it a deep chocolate flavour and a rich, fudgy, brownie-like texture.
It works so well with the crisp chocolate shortcrust pastry base and sweet poached pear topping.
This vegan chocolate pear frangipane tart is a brilliant Autumnal dessert that is so worth the effort to make. Serve it with ice cream, cream or custard for a real crowd pleasing pudding.
Ingredient Details:
Pears: I poach the pears in sugar syrup so that they are soft and jammy. If you want to skip this step then you can just use tinned pear halves instead. If making the poached pears I wold go for the Conference variety and they should be just ripe, you don't want them to be too soft.
Chocolate: Use a dark (semisweet) chocolate, no more than 70% cocoa solids.
Cocoa powder: Use dutch processed rather than natural (regular cocoa powder for those of you in the UK).
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour. Don't swap it for wholemeal. I haven't tested this gluten-free and you would need to find your own gluten-free pastry recipe, but I think that a plain gluten-free flour blend would work well in the frangipane.
Vegan butter: For the best results you really need to use a block butter/margarine, not the spreadable kind in a tub. Especially for the pastry. I use Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.
Ground almonds: This is what forms the base of the frangipane. I believe that in the US it would be called almond flour rather than ground almonds.
Vodka: Vodka is my (not-so) secret trick for crispy pastry. Because it has a lower water percentage than well, water; using a bit of vodka rather than water to bind the pastry makes for crispier pastry as the alcohol burns off when it cooks.
You can't taste it at all and you can absolutely use water instead if you prefer, but if you happen to have a bottle of vodka lurking in the cupboard I urge you to give it a try!
Milk: I recommend using soy milk as it has the highest protein content and is best for baking. Any kind of non-dairy milk will work however, but do go for unsweetened if possible.
Baking powder: Just a smidge in the frangipane to replace the lift that would usually be provided by the eggs.
Sugar: You will need both icing (powdered) sugar and either caster or granulated sugar. This chocolate pear frangipane tart cannot be made with sweeteners or liquid sugars.
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Pear Frangipane Tart:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Step 1: To make the poached pears, place the water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a deep saucepan. Bring up to a simmer, add the peeled pears and simmer for 20 minutes until they are tender.
Step 2: To make the pastry, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt. Add the cold butter and rub in using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.
Step 3: Add the vodka and enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Refrigerate until firm enough to roll out.
Step 4: Roll out the pastry thinly on a floured surface and transfer it to a 23 cm/9 in round pie dish or tart tin.
Step 5. Line the pastry case with baking parchment, then fill with baking beans. Blind bake.
Step 6: Melt the chocolate and vegan butter together.
Step 7: Whisk in the cocoa powder, milk, sugar, flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Pour the frangipane into the pastry case and spread it level.
Step 8: Slice the cooled pears in half lengthways and use a spoon to scoop out the core and seeds. Cut slices down the length of the pear leaving the narrow end uncut. Spread the pear slices to form a fan shape.
Step 9: Arrange the pears on top of the frangipane.
Step 10: Bake for 50 minutes.
Top Tips:
All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
It is important to chill the pastry before rolling it out, otherwise it will be too soft and you will struggle to roll it.
For the best, crispy pastry, make sure that you don’t overwork it or let it get too warm. Freezing the tart shell prior to blind baking it helps to make the pastry crisp and stops it from shrinking too much.
The pastry can be made in advance and stored (well wrapped) in the fridge for up to 2 days. If it becomes too firm to roll out let it sit out at room temperature for ½ an hour before rolling.
The tart shell can be prepared and blind baked as per the recipe, then cooled and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two days before adding the frangipane and pears.
The poached pears can be stored in the poaching syrup in the fridge for about 3 days.
You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla or almond extract to the frangipane if you like.
The poached pears can be swapped for tinned pears or another fruit of your choice. Raspberries or cherries (either fresh or frozen) would work well.
If you want the tart to be extra glossy, once it is baked you can brush it with warm, sieved apricot jam.
FAQ'S:
The tart will keep (covered) in the fridge for around 4 days.
Yes this tart freezes well. Make sure that it is well covered to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature to serve.
The tart can be served either warm or cold; warm it has a fudgy texture, cold it is more dense and brownie-like. It is fantastic with ice cream, cream or custard.
More Vegan Frangipane Recipes:
- Vegan lemon Bakewell slices
- Pistachio cherry frangipane tart
- Vegan apricot frangipane tart
- Vegan cherry Bakewells
- Mincemeat frangipane tart
- Vegan Bakewell tart
- Blueberry frangipane tarts
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Chocolate Pear Frangipane Tart (Vegan)
Equipment
- 23 cm/9 in round pie dish
Ingredients
Poached Pears:
- 4 small conference pears, just ripe peeled
- 1 litre (4 cups) water
- 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pastry:
- 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 30 g (⅓ cup) cocoa powder
- 65 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 130 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter cold and diced
- 1 Tablespoon cold vodka (or water)
Frangipane:
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) dark chocolate finely chopped
- 110 g (½ cup) vegan block butter cubed
- 90 ml (6 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 110 g (½ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 35 g (⅓ cup + 1 teaspoon) cocoa powder
- 30 g (¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 200 g (2 cups) ground almonds (almond flour)
Instructions
- To make the poached pears, place the water, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a deep saucepan. Bring up to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the peeled pears and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes until they are tender.
- Set the pears aside to cool in the poaching liquid.
- To make the pastry, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub in using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.
- Add the cold vodka (if using) and mix to combine. Gradually add enough cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Shape the pastry into a disc (don't knead it), wrap and refrigerate for about an hour until firm enough to roll out.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface into a circle big enough to line a 23 cm/9 in round pie dish. Press the pastry right into the corners then trim off the excess.
- Prick the base of the pastry shell all over with a fork then place it in the freezer for 20 minutes until solid. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Line the pastry case with baking parchment, pressing it right into the corners, then fill with baking beans or dried rice, making sure that the sides are propped up.
- Bake for 20 minutes then remove the parchment and baking beans and return the tart shell to the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until dry to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- To make the frangipane melt the chocolate and vegan butter together in a large bowl, either over a pan of hot water or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring often.
- Whisk in the milk and sugar then sift in the cocoa powder, flour and baking powder and add the ground almonds. Stir with a balloon whisk until well combined.
- Pour the frangipane into the pastry case and spread it level.
- Drain the pears really well and pat dry with kitchen paper. Slice the pears in half lengthways and use a teaspoon to gently scoop out the core, stem and seeds. Cut slices down the length of the pear half leaving the narrow end uncut. Spread the pear slices to form a fan shape.
- Arrange the fanned pears on top of the frangipane, you probably will not need all of them.
- Bake the tart for about 50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the frangipane comes out gunky with moist crumbs, but no wet batter. Allow to cool for half an hour before serving.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
- All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- You can use tinned pear halves instead of the poached pears. Drain them well and pat dry with kitchen paper.
Val
This was very tasty. Another great recipe. I followed the recipe and it turned out perfectly and was a great hit with folks at work. I only needed two pears so have spare poached pears which is not a bad thing
Amy
Delicious and easy to make!
Lucinda Baldwin
This was delicious! I made it for my vegan church minister (and everybody else) as a dessert for a meal we had together. Lovely crisp pastry, and really satisfying, rich fudge frangipane filling, balance with the sweet, juicy pear topping. Another brilliant recipe!
Lucinda Baldwin
I meant fudgy not fudge! It’s quite a dense chocolaty filling - a very sophisticated vibe!