You Rich and Evil Tart!

A Rich and Indulgent Tart

Chocolate and raspberries - you really can't go too wrong with this combination, the sharpness of the raspberries cutting the rich and bitterness of the chocolate in a perfect marriage of flavours. 

A new Magimix in tow (thanks peoples!), and a reason to bake had me sampling this recipe I had bookmarked for awhile now. The pastry was rather delicate and hard to roll out without breaking but nonetheless, once baked, you will know no difference! My tart tin was smaller than the recipe called for so I had plenty of chocolate mixture leftover. Baked in small ramekins, this makes for an easy and quick (but very rich) dessert. I would perhaps add some orange zest to the mixture and serve with creme fraiche or cream, if you are not concerned with the extra calories from what is already an extremely indulgent dessert! 

Silky Chocolate and Raspberry Tart (Serves 10-12)
(Takes 30 minutes to make, 50 minutes to cook, plus 35 minutes chilling)

Ingredients

1. 1. 150ml whole milk
2. 2. 500ml double cream
3. 3. 65g golden caster sugar
4. 300g good quality dark chocolate (ideally 70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into small squares
5. 4. 2 medium free-range eggs
6. 5. 1 tsp vanilla extract
7. 6. 200g fresh raspberries, plus extra to serve (optional)
8. for the crisp chocolate pastry
9. 7. 175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
10. 8. 25g good quality cocoa powder
11. 9. 50g icing sugar
12. 10. 100g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
13. 11. 1 medium free-range egg yolk
14. 12. 3-4 tsp cold water

Method

1. 1. For the pastry, sift the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Add the butter and whizz until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Beat the egg yolk briefly with the water. Add to the food processor and whizz until the mixture starts to stick together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until smooth. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in cling film, then chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
2. 2. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out thinly on a flour-dusted surface. Use it to line a 25cm (across the top), 4cm deep, loose-bottomed tart tin. Trim the pastry edges, then chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. 3. Put a baking sheet onto the middle shelf of the oven and preheat to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 6. Line the pastry case with a sheet of crumpled baking paper and a thin layer of baking beans or rice, then blind bake on the preheated baking tray for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beans/rice and blind bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool and crisp. Turn the oven down to 170°C/fan150°C/gas 3½.
4. 4. For the filling, put the milk, cream and sugar into a pan and slowly bring to the boil, stirring gently. Take off the heat, add the chocolate squares and stir until smooth. Cool slightly, add the eggs and vanilla extract, then mix together well.
5. 5. Scatter the raspberries in the tart case. Pour over the filling, carefully slide the tart back onto the baking sheet in the oven, then bake for 20-30 minutes or until the filling is cooked but still slightly wobbly. It will continue firming up as it cools. Remove and leave to cool somewhere cold (but not in the fridge) until set. Serve cut into thin slices and serve with additional fresh raspberries if desired.

Chocolate Pastry

I used 70% Cocoa Lindt chocolate

Perhaps less raspberries than this to allow more chocolate space!

Silky Chocolate Ganache

Out of the oven