Chocolate Tart
I tried making a chocolate tart for the first time to celebrate my mom's birthday. I followed this recipe (https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/chocolate-tart.html), but next time I think I'll stick with the same crust that I used for the cherry tart, which was much simpler and led to a nicer texture -- this one was a bit more crumbly than I would have liked (the recipe includes the cherry tart crust). Otherwise, the flavors turned out wonderfully. It's definitely a dense, luscious tart; the tart might not seem like a lot but it can feed a LOT of people. Definitely give this a try when you're looking to make something that seems more chic / upscale; it's actually surprisingly easy to make.
Active Time: 1 hr 15 min
Total Time: 3 hr
Ingredients
for the crust
> butter (1 stick, melted and slightly cooled)
> sugar (1/2 cup)
> flour (1 1/4 cup)
> salt (pinch)
for the chocolate filling
> chocolate (8 oz, broken into small pieces)
> heavy cream (1 1/4 cup)
> sugar (2 tbsp)
> salt (1/4 tsp)
> eggs (2)
> vanilla extract (1 tsp)
> espresso powder (a little)
for the chocolate glaze
> heavy cream (3 tbsp)
> light corn syrup (1 tbsp)
> chocolate (2 oz)
> hot water (1 tbsp)
> flaky sea salt
Instructions
1. Prepare the crust. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar with a spatula. Add the flour and salt, and stir until fully incorporated. The dough should be very soft.
2. Transfer the dough to a 9 or 9.5 inch round tart pan with a removable bottom, in small pieces. Distribute them on the bottom. First press evenly into the sides, and then the base, with floured fingertips.
3. Bake for 15-18 minute in a 350 degree oven, until beginning to brown.
4. Let the crust cool. In the meantime, prepare the filling. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Pour over the chocolate and let sit for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth and melted. Add the sugar, salt, and espresso powder and whisk until well incorporated. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until completely smooth.
5. Pour the chocolate filling into the baked tart shell and pop any air bubbles with a toothpick. Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is mostly set but still a little wobbly in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, ~1h.
6. Prepare the glaze. Pour heavy cream and corn starch into a bowl and microwave in 15s increments until boiling. Add the chocolate and let stand for a few minutes to soften. Whisk gently until the chcoolate is melted and smooth.
7. Whisk in the hot water. Quickly pour the glaze onto the center of the tart and tilt the tart to allow the glaze to run evenly to the sides. Top with a bit of flaky sea salt. Let stand until the glaze is set, ~1h.
Notes/Tips:
> The hot water is necessary to slightly lighten the chocolate glaze, as well as warm it up so that it can be poured + more easily spread over the top. I didn't add it and found it quite hard to spread the chocolate mixture. Use a spatula-like object (similar to the one used to spread frosting) if needed.
> The espresso powder and flaky sea salt are optional but I do definitely recommend it! It elevates the chocolate flavor. A little bit goes a long way. I don't have espresso powder, so I just mixed a bit of instant (decaf) coffee into the heavy cream when heating it up.
> Good quality chocolate goes a long way -- I used ghirardelli here.
> If you have a different sized tart pan, feel free to adjust the ingredient amounts accordingly. You may need to bake a touch longer for a larger tin (and less for a smaller tin).