Unlike some people I could mention, I am not a baker. The whole process is mysterious and my penchant for not following instructions and riffing on recipes is pretty much at odds with the baking thing. It works for chili but not for chocolate tarts.
I used, as a crust, my world renowned sugar cookie recipe but as an extra special flourish I added cocoa powder that I bought recently while in Paris at G. Detou (Insert tooth sucking noise) thinking this would make it extra chocolate-y. Actually, although the dough looked chocolate-y, it didn’t taste at all like chocolate. It didn’t even taste like sugar cookies. Not that it was bad, it just was not anything special.
I made the chocolate tart filling. Shoot me. The recipe starts by making caramel which is a horror show for me. And when you dump in the coffee it’s like armageddon. I suppose if I did this more often I might get better at it but after making this disaster I probably won’t be doing it all that much. And to make matters worse, I over-baked it and it was dry. I even served it with caramel sauce and whipped cream and that didn’t mask the Sahara dryness of it.
The filling recipe follows. Use a store bought crust. Sorry Mr Baker.
For the chocolate filling
225g sugar
90ml coffee (warm or cold does not matter)
115g unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, at room temperature)
pinch of salt
170g 70% cocoa butter chocolate, chopped into small pieces
2 large eggs
35g flour
25ml dark rum or Frangelico, or 15ml vanilla extract
The tart shell you made, or bought..
Heat oven to 350
In a heavy bottomed pan add sugar in an even layer and heat over medium heat to
melt and slightly caramelize the sugar- gently drag the unmelted sugar to the center of the pan
to caramelize evenly.
Once the sugar has caramelized (when it is turning brown, but not smoking) add coffee- be very careful as the mixture will sizzle and steam vigorously. Mix thoroughly with a whisk to incorporate coffee and caramel. If the caramel hardens at any point, return to heat for a few seconds and mix until smooth again.
Add butter and salt and mix, and then the chocolate until smooth.
Mix eggs and flour and then the vanilla/rum/Frangelico.
Pour into prebaked tart shell, or whatever the hell.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are almost cracking (like a cake) but the center is still a little jiggly. I usually take it out at 16 minutes and that works. Do not overbake though. Easier said than done.
Remove from oven and let cool completely before slicing.
You can make the tart a day or two ahead of time and store at room temperature, well covered.