Sift the flour,salt, and cocoa powder and add to a large mixing bowl.

Add the cubes of butter and gently rub the mixture with your fingers till it resembles breadcrumbs.

Next, stir in the sugar and egg and knead the mixture until it becomes a firm dough ball.

Roll out some plastic film on a clean section of the work area and flatten out the dough ball with your palms until it’s a disk around ¼ inch (8-10mm) thick.

Cover the disk with film and then roll out with a rolling pin (a wine bottle makes the perfect rolling pin if you don’t have one).

Carefully place the disk in the fridge and refrigerate for 1.5 hours.

Preheat oven to 390°F/200°C

Leave your disk at room temperature to soften for around 10 minutes.

Once the dough is softened, roll it out until around 3-4mm thick. Lay the base over the tart pan and gently press the dough disk into the mould. Be sure to gently press the base into the edges of the tart pan. Use a knife to trim the edges.

Place base on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes (Optionally, you can use baking beads with a little baking paper to protect the base).

Set aside to cool.

In a large pan or frying pan on medium heat, add the Pedro Ximénez sherry, surar, zest of lemon and orange, vanilla pod, and 2 cups of fresh water to the pan. Keep stirring gently until all the sugar has dissolved.

Add the pear slices and cover with parchment paper and simmer for around 20-25 minutes.

In a large pan on medium heat, add 3 Oz. (85 grams) of caster sugar into the pan with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.

In a microwavable bowl, add the chocolate and cook on high for 2 minutes, remove and stir, and cook again for another 1 minute or until the chocolate has melted.

While the chocolate is melting, add the cubed butter and stir into the mixture. Once infused with the sugar and water, remove from the heat and slowly fold in the melted chocolate. Set aside for use later.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs and the remaining caster sugar until you get soft peaks. This should take around 10 minutes by hand (or 5 minutes using an electric mixer).

Once you have soft peaks add the egg and sugar mixture into the chocolate and mix through until smooth.

Add the chocolate mixture to the cooled tart base. Allow a minute for the filling to settle and even out.

Next, use some tongs to arrange the pear slices on top of the chocolate mixture. They will sink a little but that’s totally fine!

Bake for around 30 minutes at 390°F/200°C or until the tart filling is firm.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before removing sides from the tart pan (if you have the time, chill in the fridge for 2 hours before removing sides of tart pan, it’ll hold together much better once chilled).

Decorate tart with a dusting of icing sugar or some crushed pistachio nuts.

The chocolate and pear tart can either be served chilled or warmed up slightly.

Best served with some freshly whipped cream and a small glass of Pedro Ximénez sherry or a sweet dessert wine.