Barchiglia - A Pear-Almond Tart Recipe from the Old Country

5 from 2 votes

It’s called Barchiglia - a chocolate-glazed almond tart with pear preserves, a traditional Easter dessert from southern Italy.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 25

Resting time1

Total Time2 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: barchiglia, pear almond tart

Servings:

Calories: 503kcal

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a food processor and pulse just until mixed together. Add pieces of butter and pulse again until small crumbs form.
2 cups all purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pea-sized pieces
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolk, and lemon zest.
1 whole egg, plus 1 yolk, 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Then, with the food processor running, slowly add the egg-zest mixture through the feed tube. Mix, then pulse until dough forms around the blades. Pinch dough between your fingers...if it sticks together easily, it’s done.
Separate dough into two balls. Press each ball into a flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. If refrigerated for over 1 hour, let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before attempting to roll it out.

Cut pears into ½” pieces and place in a pot.
3 pounds ripe pears, peeled and cored
Stir pears together with sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and let rest for 1 hour.
Zest of 1 lemon, 2 ¾ cups granulated sugar, ¼ cup lemon juice
Once some of the pears juices have released, bring to a boil, then simmer until pears are translucent and syrup is lightly golden, about 45 minutes (215℉ on a candy thermometer). Let cool completely. FYI, this will stay good in the fridge for up to a month!

To blanch almonds, drop almonds into boiling water for about 20 seconds, drain, and let dry. Place dried almonds in a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs.
1 cup blanched almonds
In a stand mixer, whisk egg yolks and sugar at medium-high until fluffy. Gently mix in cinnamon, lemon zest, and ground almonds until mixed well (it will be very thick, like a paste!). Set aside and clean bowl and whisk for the next step.
3 large eggs, separated, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, Zest of 1 lemon, 1 cup blanched almonds
In stand mixer, whisk together egg whites and pinch of salt until peaks are firm but not dry. Fold ⅓ of egg whites into almond mixture, then another ⅓, then final ⅓ until all egg whites and almond mixture are folded together.
3 large eggs, separated, Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350℉.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry dough and place into tart pan.
Spread pear preserves over the bottom in an even layer.
Pour almond filling over top and spread evenly with a spatula.
Bake until golden and puffed, about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

The final step is to make a chocolate ganache to spread over the top of the tart.
4 ounces dark chocolate (60-65% cacao), coarsely chopped
Bring cream to a simmer in a small saucepan.
½ cup heavy cream
Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Let melt for a minute, then stir to combine until smooth.
Let cool until it’s just slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Pour over center of the tart and use a spatula to gently spread it to the edges.
Let stand about 2 hours, to allow the glaze to set, and serve!