Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

What’s with the new trend of mean holiday commercials? Ones where you are told you bought a horrible gift or show someone being spiteful to their mother in law (“He drinks coffee now, Mom“). Is it really easier to sell those than the happy, cozy ads?

Don’t get me wrong. I get that most families are really like that, but showing me the worst in people doesn’t really make me want to get up and jingle my booty into your store. We have 40-something days to go until Christmas, why start bringing out the nasty now? I’ll stick with the same old happy Pillsbury Dough Boy ad.

Speaking of the holidays (whew, get me off that rant), wouldn’t this bittersweet chocolate tart be perfect at a get together?  This recipe was featured last month in Better Homes and Gardens magazine, along with a bunch of other beautiful pies. The photograph showed a clean and attractive tart and the ingredient list caught my eye as simple and delicious.

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks)  cold unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup  granulated sugar
• 1 Tbs.  powdered sugar
• 2 cups  all-purpose flour
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 cup  heavy cream
• 1/2 cup  milk
• 8 oz.  excellent-quality bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cacao), chopped
• 1/4 cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp.  salt
• 2 large  eggs, at room temperature, beaten

Preparation:

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat, add both sugars, and stir to combine. Stir in the flour and set aside to cool for 15 minutes (the dough will still be a little warm). Press the dough evenly onto bottom and sides of tart pan. It is important to fit the dough evenly into every nook and cranny of the pan, especially the scalloped edges. Trim excess dough with a knife.

Place the tart shell on a sturdy cookie sheet so it will be easy to move in and out of the oven. Line the shell with aluminum foil and add pie weights or dried beans to keep the sides of the tart from buckling. Bake for 30 minutes. Take the tart out of the oven; remove foil and weights or beans. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the shell all over with a thin layer of egg white. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 8 minutes until the shell is cooked through and a light golden color, but not browned. (The tart will be cooked again with the filling; you don’t want it to burn on the second bake.) Set aside to cool while making the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

To make the filling: Combine the heavy cream and milk in a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until mixture just simmers around the edges. Remove pan from heat, add chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth. Add sugar and salt; whisk until well incorporated. Let sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Add eggs, and whisk until completely blended. Pour filling into cool tart shell, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the filling is just set and surface is glossy. If bubbles or cracks form on the surface, remove tart from oven-its beginning to overbake. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

How simple was that? No one will know that your bittersweet chocolate tart took only a few steps to make, and it turns out lovely. My #1 tip (and laugh all you want as I was inexperienced enough to do this) is don’t let plastic wrap come in contact with the tart. It will very quickly demolish your tart like Godzilla to old Japanese cities.

If you are like me and learned this the hard way, just quickly turn your oven back on to 325, quarter the filling recipe, get that back into motion and pour another thin layer on top. Baking again for about 15 minutes. I know, smooth, aren’t I?

Smooth like the top of a bittersweet chocolate tart 😉