Chocolate tart recipe

Ingredients

• 250 g shortcrust pastry
• 1 extra large egg white, whisked
• 300 g good-quality dark chocolate
• 75 ml milk
• 225 ml cream
• a generous handful of fresh mint
• 2 extra large eggs, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Grease and line a rectangular tart pan.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry, line the quiche pan and trim the edges. Cover the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Blind bake for 10 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove the beans and paper and brush the pastry with egg white before returning to the oven for a further minute to seal. Remove and set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 130 °C.
To make the Tart Filling
3. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a large glass bowl. Place the milk and cream into a saucepan. Bruise the mint and add to the milk and cream mixture, then heat the mixture until just before boiling point. Strain the mixture through a sieve and discard the mint. Add the hot milk and cream mixture to the chocolate and stir until smooth. Temper (see page 5) a little of the hot cream mixture with the beaten eggs, then slowly add the remaining cream mixture. Strain the mixture again to ensure that there are no strands of cooked egg in it – this will result in a silky smooth mixture.
Final Bake
4. Place the tart pan onto a baking tray and pour in the chocolate tart filling as close to the rim as you can. Bake for 25 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave to set for a further 5 minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.