Long Awaited: Double Chocolate Tart

Since I have started this blog, I have become nervous to cook for family and friends. So when Mansie visited us a few months ago I decided to make this Double Chocolate Tart. I figured it would be hard to mess up chocolate, sugar, and butter.

It was a big hit! Since then a number of friends have asked for this recipe.

Double Chocolate Tart
adopted from Jamie Oliver’s Cook with Jamie
For the pastry of 2 tarts
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup of all-purpose plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 large egg
a pinch of salt
3/4 cup of dried beans for blind baking

For the filling of 1 tart
1 1/3 cup of whipping cream
5 tbsp of sugar
50g of 70% dark chocolate bar
1 large egg

This recipe calls for precise measurements. Measure 1/2 cup of very cold butter and remove two tbsp of butter. In a big bowl sift flour, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar. Stir the flour mixture so that the cocoa powder is mixed well with the flour. Work the cold butter into the flour mixture, until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add beated egg to the mixture and lightly make a ball of dough. Don’t work the pastry too much; otherwise it will become elastic and chewy. Place the dough in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 8″ tart pan with butter. Lightly flour a clean surface and a rolling-pin. Roll out the refrigerated dough to approximately 1/8″ thickness. Line the tart pan with the dough as shown here. Place parchment paper over the tart dough and place dried beans over the surface of the parchment paper. Bake the dough for 8-10 minutes. Then remove the parchment paper along with the beans from the tart pan. Put the tart back in the oven for 2-3 minutes more and then remove it from the oven. Turn the oven temperature down to 325ºF.

Add whipping cream and sugar into a pan and slowly bring it to a boil. Turn the heat off and add the broken chocolate to the mixture. Whisk the mixture until smooth. In a separate big bowl beat an egg. Add one spoon of the chocolate mixture to the egg bowl at a time, while whisking the egg and chocolate mixture. Continue to add the chocolate mixture until you have added all of it. Then pour the mixture back into pan and let it simmer over low heat for a couple of minutes.

To avoid spilling, place the tart pan on the oven shelf and pour the filling into the tart. Slowly push the oven shelf back in. Bake for 10 minutes. The tart is cooked when the filling still has a slight wobble to it. It will keep firming up as it cools down. Serve with vanilla ice-cream and berry compote.

My verdict: This is the perfect recipe to treat your loved one to. In case this tart does not turn out the way I made it, then you are missing the key ingredient… Love. Add lots of it!!