A tart is a filled crust, versus a torte, which is a single- or multilayered baked dessert that is more of a cake than a tart, but of a similar round shape. Tarts allow for simple ends to meals. They are great to place sliced on the table haphazardly with a pile of forks, encouraging sharing of a few sweet bites. While at the pastry helm of the Ace Hotel, I would make this dessert for diners coming in for large roast dinners served family style. After a very rich meal, a small sliver of dark chocolate was always the right answer. Serve the tart with a digestif on the side to bring your take on elegant restraint at a hearty meal’s end all the way!
Ingredients
- Scant 1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream
- 8 ounces (225 g) 64% percent dark chocolate wafers (Michel Cluizel preferred)
- ½ teaspoon Maldon sea salt flakes, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 tablespoons organic unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
- 1 batch Sweet Dough, blind baked
How to Make It
- Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Place the chocolate and salt in a medium glass bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate. Place the butter on top of the mixture and allow it to sit for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Using a spatula, stir the ganache together from the center outward for 2 minutes, until the ingredients are melted and combined.
- Add the Frangelico to the ganache and, using an immersion blender that is completely submerged to avoid incorporating air bubbles, emulsify the mixture until the texture is homogenous, glossy, and smooth.
- Tap the bowl of ganache on the counter to release any air bubbles and carefully pour into the Sweet Dough shell.
- Allow the filled tart shell to sit, uncovered, to set in a cool but not ice-cold place for a day or at least 6 hours.
- Once the tart is set, cut with a knife that has been placed in a jug of hot water, warming the metal, and then dried. Serve with a sprinkle of additional Maldon sea salt flakes.
