Overview:
The filling is a ganache made of fifty-fifty dark chocolate and 38% cream, melted and combined on a bain-marie. Definitely worth giving a go but be warned, it's a ten out of ten and as we all know nothing is really tasty unless it's infused with all things bad for us.
Few experiences in life are so decadent, rich in flavour and irresistible as a chance encounter with a silky, dreamy, creamy chocolate tart wrapped in delicate short crust pastry. This really is a once in a lifetime encounter, one you will never forget but one you will surely regret if you fail to add it to your to-do culinary bucket list.
What differentiates one chocolate tart from another? Surely chocolate is just chocolate? NO! You couldn’t be more wrong.
Learning chocolate tart skills at pastry school back in the day, we were shown how to crumble old leftover pieces of genoise torte and short crust pastry into the chocolate mix, bake it, then finish with a thin layer of ganache. It was a subterfuge to use less chocolate and by doing so make the tart more cost effective. Most punters wouldn’t notice the difference; that is, unless they are fortunate enough to cross paths with one of my To Die From Chocolate Tarts.
An essential for chocolate tart making is the quality and cocoa content of the chocolate used. If there is too high a cocoa content the chocolate in the Tart will be too hard to the tooth when served at room temperature. Conversely, if it is too low the chocolate won’t hold its form once the tart is cut to serve. I use Callebaut, quality Belgian dark chocolate baking drops with 54.5% cocoa content giving the tart its near-perfect dreamlike consistency.
This chocolate tart is incredible for its simplicity in production, something which disguises its visual, textural and culinary complexity. The filling is a ganache made of fifty-fifty dark chocolate and 38% cream, melted and combined on a bain-marie. Definitely worth giving a go but be warned it’s a ten out of ten, and as we all know, nothing is really tasty unless it’s infused with all things bad for us.
To Die From Chocolate Tart
Short crust base
Ingredients and method for making the short crust base are contained in a previous column: Lemon Tart with Italian Meringue.
- Chocolate ganache filling
- 54.5 % chocolate drops x 500 grams
- Heavy cream (38%) x 500 ml
Method
Using a bain-marie on low heat, put chocolate drops and cream in a bowl, place the bowl on the bain-marie and slowly heat and melt the contents. Make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.
Stir occasionally. When the chocolate and cream have completely combined and the mixture has gone dark in colour and become a smooth and silky liquid, pour using a jug into prebaked short crust pastry shell.
While the chocolate mixture is still liquid you can tip the pastry shell gently from side to side to get the contents of the tart smooth and level. Leave to cool, then place in the freezer overnight. Remove from freezer, and using a large sharp knife, cut into 8 slices, making sure to wipe the knife clean before each cut.
Serve at room temperature and gosh to die from, to die for, it’s all the same thing, a little piece of heaven on earth.
See you on the other side.
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