Recipe:Chocolate Tart

My version of a recipe from Nico Ladenis. Rich and sensual...a small piece goes a long way...but my God, is it good!

This is another egg-based tart filling, to be cooked at a low temperature so that it 'sets' rather than 'bakes'. If cooking this at 170 degrees, as specified here, then you need to hover beside the oven and be sure to remove the tart from the heat when the centre of the filling still perceptibly wobbles when you move the tart tin - it will continue to cook in its own heat, and will be perfectly set after it has sat for a further ten minutes or so. I suspect that it would cook equally well in an oven set at around 130 degrees, but would take longer, and you wouldn't need to bother hovering over it, as there's no danger of over-cooking at the lower temperature.

I generally serve this either with an orange-flavoured crème anglais or else with a lime and lemon flavoured cream - in either case, the citrus flavour cuts across the richness of the chocolate admirably.

Good eaten either shortly after it has been made, or else on the following day.

For one 8" tart.

Ingredients: Shortcrust pastry, made with 150g '00' Flour, 120g Butter, and approx 40ml Water; 200g Butter; 300g good quality dark Chocolate; 2 Eggs; 60g Sugar; Icing Sugar, to decorate.

Method:

1. Roll out the pastry, line an 8" false-bottomed tin, and leave to rest for thirty minutes before blind baking in a 200 degree C oven. Reduce the heat to 170 degrees C after the pastry shell has been removed.

2. Melt the Butter and Chocolate together in a double boiler or simmertopf. Allow to cool slightly.

3. Whisk the Eggs with the Sugar to make a Sabayon; stir into this the Chocolate and Butter mixture, and incorporate thoroughly.

4. Pour the mixture into the baked pastry shell, and return to the oven for ten minutes or so. Remove from the oven as soon as the surface shows signs of 'bubbling', and while the centre of the tart still seems quite wobbly. Allow to rest for at least ten minutes, while the filling will continue to firm up.

Dust with Icing Sugar before serving.