Chocolate Tart Recipe

©Kara Rosenlund

With so many of you requesting the recipes from my latest ‘Weekend in Pictures’ food shoots it has me a little nervous… I make changes to recipes a lot… and this one is no different.

The original recipe called for a ‘rich sweet pastry’, however when I made this I was more in the mood for something darker and less sweet, rather more bitter…. so I used a savoury shortcrust pastry recipe… mainly because I love a bit of salt with my sweet… The pastry is a traditional shortcrust pastry recipe and the filling is from Matt Moran.

For the Pastry

• 250 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 125 g butter, chilled and diced, plus extra for greasing
• 1-2 tablespoons ice cold water

For the Filling

• 210 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 60 g milk chocolate, chopped
• 60 g butter, diced
• 315 ml cream
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks

For The Pastry

Place the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the oil, salt and butter. Rub the butter into the flour using just your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Moisten with the cold water to bring the dough together. Briefly knead the dough by hand, the more quickly this is done the better the pastry will be. Roll into a ball and cover in kitchen plastic and place in the fridge from anywhere to 30 minutes til overnight.

Take it out of the fridge and leave it to come back to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease your 23 cm tart case, the ones with removable bases are really handy. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the pastry into a circle at 5mm thick and wide enough to lay in your greased tart tin. This sort of pastry is very crumbly so if yours breaks just gently mend it together again with your fingertips.

Line the pastry with a piece of baking paper and fill with either uncooked rice or baking weights and bake for 10 minutes. Then remove baking paper and weights and bake for another 10 minutes, or until is is golden brown.

For The Filling

Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Place both chopped chocolates and butter in a bowl. Then place cream in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Pour gently boiled cream over the chocolate and butter in the bowl and stir until smooth. Stir in eggs one at a time.
Pour the chocolate and cream mixture into your tart shell and bake for 25 minutes.

K xx