Baked Chocolate Tart
Baked Chocolate Tart
This baked chocolate tart combines a soft dark chocolate filling and milk chocolate ganache with a crisp sweet pastry case.
It’s a classic tart that stands out for its smooth texture and thin pastry. The key is underbaking the chocolate filling slightly and serving it quite soon after. This will give the tart a set, but soft, wobbly centre.
It’s the perfect showstopper to finish a meal and impress your guests!
Ingredients
Method
Beat the butter, salt and icing sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes until it forms a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add in the egg yolks and beat again for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beater to ensure the butter is fully incorporated and there are no streaks of unincorporated butter.
Tip in the flour and mix on low speed until it pulls together into a dough.
Lift the dough out and squeeze it with your hands to form a rough disc. Place the pastry in between two large silicon mats (or parchment paper, but this can be a little slippery!) and roll it into a rough circle around 3-5mm thick. Place it on a tray and into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Once chilled remove the dough from the freezer and peel off the silicon mats. Let it soften for just a minute at room temperature so that it is flexible.
For this recipe, I used a rolled top flan ring (20x2.5cm) but an 8" fluted tart ring will be perfect too - you will have enough filling. If you're using the flan ring, you will need to place it on a baking mat and tray - ideally a perforated baking mat and tray as this will prevent the pastry from puffing up as it bakes.
Trim the pastry down slightly to a circle that is slightly larger than your tart ring and lift it in. Use your hands to gently press the dough into the edges of the tart ring without tearing it. If it it rips just patch the dough up. Once you have lined the tart ring, fold the excess pastry over itself to create a thicker edge around the top of the tin, creating a slight overhang - we will trim this off later but it will prevent the pastry from sinking as it bakes.
Place the tart into the freezer for 20 minutes and pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F Non-Fan Assisted.
Once chilled, use a fork to gently dock the pastry all over (I like to dock the sides too when I'm using the flan ring - no need with the fluted ring). Then place it straight into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, the base should be golden brown but still have a slightly plate crust. Lower the oven temperature to 140C/285F.
Remove it from the oven and then use a small serrated knife to trim the excess pastry, so that it is flush with the top of the tart ring. Be gentle here with your sawing motions as the pastry is still fragile and we don't want to snap a large chunk off!
Once it's been trimmed, let it cool for about 5 minutes then lift it carefully out of the tart ring. The outer edges will be slightly rough from where you trimmed it, so use a fine microplane grater to smooth the pastry. This isn't necessary but will really neaten the pastry and make it sharp!
Whisk together the egg wash ingredients and brush this all over the tart, inside and out.
Place it into the oven and bake for a further 20-25m until it is a deep golden colour. Yes...20 minutes! It is a low temperature so it will give a really nice even golden colour. Make sure it is very golden though...no pale pastry! Remove it from the oven to cool (but leave the oven on at 140C/285F). Note - the pastry case can be frozen once baked and used later. When you need to use, it, simply place it back in a hot oven at 175C/345F for about 7 minutes, then leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes, and proceed with the recipe!
Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate, butter & salt. Note - you might ask if you can use white chocolate or milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate - by all means, use them but I haven't tested it so can't say if it will work. Worth a go!
Into a small saucepan, add the cream and place it on a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture is steaming hot but not quite boiling.
Pour it over the chocolate mixture and let it sit for 2 minutes.
Use a hand blender to blend until smooth (try to avoid adding too many air bubbles here)
Add in the whole eggs and yolks, and blend again till smooth. It should be a glossy, smooth ganache.
Pour the mixture straight into the baked tart shell, almost to the top of the pastry, leaving a small gap so that we can add the ganache later. Give the baking tray a little shimmy to settle it flat. You might have a little extra mixture depending on the size of your tart ring.
Bake it for 14 minutes at 140C/285F, it should still have a wobble in the centre when you shake it. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes, before placing it into the fridge for 30 minutes. We don't really want to chill it much longer (I will explain at the end)
Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate and liquid glucose (this is optional but helps to give it a nice shine. You could add some honey instead)
Add the cream to a small saucepan and heat until it is steaming hot. Immediately pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes.
Use a hand blender to blend until smooth - really try to avoid adding air bubbles here as this will be the decorative top to the tart and we don't want lots of big bubbles. That's why using a thin tall jug is important so that there is enough room in the jug to fully submerge the blender head without pumping lots of air in.
Remove the tart from the fridge and carefully pour the ganache onto the top of the tart, filling it about 2/3 of the way (You will have some ganache leftover or you can just make a thick layer of ganache but I prefer a thin layer).
Working quickly, gently tilt the tart to spread the ganache to the edges.
Place the tart in the fridge for 15 minutes.
At this point, I leave the tart at room temperature for another 30m-1 hour. The sooner you serve it, the softer that milk chocolate ganache and baked ganache filling will be, which personally, is the ideal texture. I avoid refrigerating it any longer as the longer it chills, the firmer the baked ganache becomes which I don't think is as good texture-wise - so try to stick to those fridge timings as best as possible. You can refrigerate it by all means, but it won't be a soft custardy texture. Serve with some whipped chantilly cream and enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter, salt and icing sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes until it forms a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add in the egg yolks and beat again for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beater to ensure the butter is fully incorporated and there are no streaks of unincorporated butter.
Tip in the flour and mix on low speed until it pulls together into a dough.
Lift the dough out and squeeze it with your hands to form a rough disc. Place the pastry in between two large silicon mats (or parchment paper, but this can be a little slippery!) and roll it into a rough circle around 3-5mm thick. Place it on a tray and into the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Once chilled remove the dough from the freezer and peel off the silicon mats. Let it soften for just a minute at room temperature so that it is flexible.
For this recipe, I used a rolled top flan ring (20x2.5cm) but an 8" fluted tart ring will be perfect too - you will have enough filling. If you're using the flan ring, you will need to place it on a baking mat and tray - ideally a perforated baking mat and tray as this will prevent the pastry from puffing up as it bakes.
Trim the pastry down slightly to a circle that is slightly larger than your tart ring and lift it in. Use your hands to gently press the dough into the edges of the tart ring without tearing it. If it it rips just patch the dough up. Once you have lined the tart ring, fold the excess pastry over itself to create a thicker edge around the top of the tin, creating a slight overhang - we will trim this off later but it will prevent the pastry from sinking as it bakes.
Place the tart into the freezer for 20 minutes and pre-heat the oven to 175C/345F Non-Fan Assisted.
Once chilled, use a fork to gently dock the pastry all over (I like to dock the sides too when I'm using the flan ring - no need with the fluted ring). Then place it straight into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, the base should be golden brown but still have a slightly plate crust. Lower the oven temperature to 140C/285F.
Remove it from the oven and then use a small serrated knife to trim the excess pastry, so that it is flush with the top of the tart ring. Be gentle here with your sawing motions as the pastry is still fragile and we don't want to snap a large chunk off!
Once it's been trimmed, let it cool for about 5 minutes then lift it carefully out of the tart ring. The outer edges will be slightly rough from where you trimmed it, so use a fine microplane grater to smooth the pastry. This isn't necessary but will really neaten the pastry and make it sharp!
Whisk together the egg wash ingredients and brush this all over the tart, inside and out.
Place it into the oven and bake for a further 20-25m until it is a deep golden colour. Yes...20 minutes! It is a low temperature so it will give a really nice even golden colour. Make sure it is very golden though...no pale pastry! Remove it from the oven to cool (but leave the oven on at 140C/285F). Note - the pastry case can be frozen once baked and used later. When you need to use, it, simply place it back in a hot oven at 175C/345F for about 7 minutes, then leave it at room temperature for 10 minutes, and proceed with the recipe!
Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate, butter & salt. Note - you might ask if you can use white chocolate or milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate - by all means, use them but I haven't tested it so can't say if it will work. Worth a go!
Into a small saucepan, add the cream and place it on a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the mixture is steaming hot but not quite boiling.
Pour it over the chocolate mixture and let it sit for 2 minutes.
Use a hand blender to blend until smooth (try to avoid adding too many air bubbles here)
Add in the whole eggs and yolks, and blend again till smooth. It should be a glossy, smooth ganache.
Pour the mixture straight into the baked tart shell, almost to the top of the pastry, leaving a small gap so that we can add the ganache later. Give the baking tray a little shimmy to settle it flat. You might have a little extra mixture depending on the size of your tart ring.
Bake it for 14 minutes at 140C/285F, it should still have a wobble in the centre when you shake it. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes, before placing it into the fridge for 30 minutes. We don't really want to chill it much longer (I will explain at the end)
Into a tall jug, add the chopped chocolate and liquid glucose (this is optional but helps to give it a nice shine. You could add some honey instead)
Add the cream to a small saucepan and heat until it is steaming hot. Immediately pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes.
Use a hand blender to blend until smooth - really try to avoid adding air bubbles here as this will be the decorative top to the tart and we don't want lots of big bubbles. That's why using a thin tall jug is important so that there is enough room in the jug to fully submerge the blender head without pumping lots of air in.
Remove the tart from the fridge and carefully pour the ganache onto the top of the tart, filling it about 2/3 of the way (You will have some ganache leftover or you can just make a thick layer of ganache but I prefer a thin layer).
Working quickly, gently tilt the tart to spread the ganache to the edges.
Place the tart in the fridge for 15 minutes.
At this point, I leave the tart at room temperature for another 30m-1 hour. The sooner you serve it, the softer that milk chocolate ganache and baked ganache filling will be, which personally, is the ideal texture. I avoid refrigerating it any longer as the longer it chills, the firmer the baked ganache becomes which I don't think is as good texture-wise - so try to stick to those fridge timings as best as possible. You can refrigerate it by all means, but it won't be a soft custardy texture. Serve with some whipped chantilly cream and enjoy!
What if you refrigerate it (make ahead) and bring to room temp to serve will that texture be ok ?
I tried that but it sets the ganache too hard that it doesn’t soften enough at room temp.
Could you add a greater ratio of cream to make it set less firm?
It is pretty soft once it is baked but yeh sure!
It doesn’t say the temperature to bake it at for 14 minutes – improvised!
140c!
For step 21, what temperature do you bake it on?
140c