Chocolate Ganache Tart

For the pastry

8oz (225g) plain flour + a little extra to flour your work surface

4oz (115g) cooking margarine

2 dessert spoons castor sugar

2-3 tablespoons of cold water (fill a little ramekin or mug with water)

For the chocolate tart

100g good quality (70% cocoa solids) dark chocolate, broken into pieces

20g unsalted butter

150g double cream

preparation 2 mins • you cook for 25 mins • total time 2hrs 30 mins

Makes 2 individual tarts

Watch a 30 second preview of my cook-along video below

If you cannot view the video below, click here to download QuickTime from Apple's website.

Chocolate ganache is that lovely gooey stuff that posh chocolate truffles are made of. That's what goes into this tart! Wonderfully light, home made pastry and chocolate ganache. This is a serious dessert for serious chocolate lovers. And even better, it's dead simple to make. This is a four part recipe (but really easy!). In part one we make the pastry. In part two we prepare the tart cases and bake them. In part three we trim the tart cases and melt the chocolate. In part four we assemble the tart.

Food processor to make the pastry

Food bag or clingfilm to chill the pastry

2 x 10cm fluted tart tins (greased & lined with baking parchment)

4 x circular disks of baking parchment. (Draw round the base of your tin. 2 are for lining, 2 are for blind baking)

Baking beans or anything heavyish and oven proof (marbles, rice)

Rolling pin

Large glass mixing bowl

Small saucepan that the mixing bowl can sit on

Palate knife would be useful but not essential

Spatula

Fork

Spoon to stir

Before you start, have the pastry ingredients out, your food processor plugged in and click here!

Before you start preheat your oven to 180c. Take the pastry out the fridge, have a clear surface, your rolling pin ready and the plain flour out. Now click here!

Before you start, remove the baking beans and the disk of parchment paper from the tart cases. Have your small saucepan on the hob, filled with an inch of barely simmering water. Have the chocolate and butter next to your mixing bowl at the hob and click here!

Before you start, take the chocolate off the heat, take your cases out the fridge, have the cream ready and click here!

To begin, you need to make the pastry. Take the flour and marg and blitz in the food processor until you have a crumb like mix. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and blend again. You will probably need 3 tablespoons of water, but pastry can be awkward. You'll know when it's done, when it turns into one big blob in your food processor, like the photo below.

Lightly dust your work surface and then empty the dough on top. Bring the dough together into a ball with your hands, then wrap tightly in a food bag or clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, it's time to roll out the pastry, so lightly flour your work surface. Pop your dough on top, and then cut the pastry in half (one half for each tart). Lightly dust your hands in the flour and flatten the pastry into a block. Next dust the rolling pin and roll the pastry a few times in one direction, then pick it up, turn it and roll in the other direction. This will mean that you get a rough circular shape. Every few rolls, lift the pastry off the surface to check it's not sticking. If it does stick, then add a little more flour. To check the size, turn your tin upside down on the pastry. The pastry should be big enough to generously cover the tin, with plenty of excess.
Carefully lift the pasty off the surface and drape it over the tart case. Lifting the sides, ease the pastry into the case, and then push into the inside edges, exposing the shape of the base.

Next you need to gently push the inside of the pastry into the flutes of the tin, so that the inside contours the shape of the case.

Trim some of the excess pastry around the edges, but make sure there is still plenty of overhanging pastry. Set this aside now and repeat the process with the other half of pastry and the other tart case.

Once you have both tart cases made, prick the base of each case all over with a fork. Cover the base with your spare disks of parchment paper and then cover with baking beans. If you don't have baking beans, use (clean) marbles or rice, anything to weigh the parchment paper down. Pop them on a baking tray and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown, then remove them to cool for 5 minutes.

Remove the baking beans and parchment paper and you should be left with two tart cases ready for trimming.

To trim the cases, using a small sharp knife, lie the blade almost flat against the rim of the case and gently scrape away, exposing the top of the rim. Do this all the way around the cases.

Next you should be able to gently break away the overhanging pastry, leaving you with nice trimmed cases. Carefully ease the pastry out of the tins, pop them on a plate, then chill in the fridge whilst you make the filling.

Put your small saucepan on the hob with a couple of inches of barely simmering water. Put the chocolate and butter into the mixing bowl and sit the bowl on the saucepan for 7-8 minutes until it's 90% melted. The key here is not to have rapidly boiling water, and don't let the bottom of the bowl sit in the water.

Once the chocolate has pretty much melted (there should still be a few small lumps), remove the bowl from the heat and stir with your spatula.
You should be left with a nice glossy chocolate mix. Whilst stirring, pour in the double cream and stir until the cream is completely incorporated.

Lastly take your tart cases from the fridge and pour the chocolate evenly between them. Use your spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, and then press gently on the chocolate to smooth out the tart. Chill for 1 hour in the fridge to set and you're done!

I hope that you enjoy it.

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