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chocolate

Chocolate tart with plum & rose

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CHOCOLATE TART WITH ROASTED PLUM COMPOTE & TOASTED ROSE PETALS
PATE SUCRÉE

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

ALMOND FRANGIPANE

50g butter at room temperature
50g sugar 
1 medium egg at room temperature (about 50g) 
65g almond flour 
Generous pinch of salt 

SLOW ROASTED PLUM COMPOTE

500g fresh or frozen plums, halved, pits removed 
100g sugar 

THE PLUM, I SUPPOSE GANACHE FILLING

180g fruity 70% dark chocolate (I used Xoco Gourmet‘s Mayan Red)
200g heavy cream 
2 Tbsp. Empirical Spirits “The plum, I suppose” (substitute with Slivovitz, plum or sloe gin)
Pinch of salt

Dried rose petals

Slow roasted plum compote: Preheat the oven to 140C. Mix the plums with the sugar and place in a single layer an ovenproof dish and bake for 1,5 hours until the plums are tender and starting to caramelise. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Tart shells: Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shells for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the tart shells. 

Preheat the oven to 175C and prebake the tart shells for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Almond frangipane: Beat the butter and sugar together until light and airy, add the egg and beat until combined. Stir in the almond flour and salt and spread a thin layer of frangipane into the cooled tart shells.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the frangipane is golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

Chocolate ganache: Finely chop the chocolate and add to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until it is very hot, but not boiling, and pour over the chocolate. Leave for a minute or two, then slowly stir from the center out to emulsify. Add the spirit and season to taste with a pinch of salt.

To assemble: Add a thin layer of plum compote on top of the frangipane and pour over the chocolate ganache. Leave to set.

Toast the rose petals on a hot pan until fragrant, then crush and sprinkle over the set chocolate ganache.

Pear tart with Pastis and bergamot

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Pear tart with pastis and bergamot
Pear tart with Pastis and bergamot

Makes 6 tarts

Pate Sucrée

75 g butter at room temperature 
50g confectioners sugar
1/2 egg 
15g almond flour
125g all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Hazelnut sponge

60g hazelnuts
50g + 25g cane sugar
20g egg yolk
75g egg whites
50g butter, melted
35g all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 generous pinch of salt 

Bergamot olive oil ganache

160g citrusy, fruity dark chocolate, chopped
20g glucose syrup  
75ml heavy cream
100ml bergamot olive oil (I recommend this)
Pinch of salt 

Pastis poached pear

4 ripe, but firm pears
500ml water
125ml Pastis
125g sugar

Tart shells: Cream together butter and confectioners sugar. Beat in the egg, then gently stir in flour, almond flour and salt. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

Roll out the dough and line six 7,5cm tart rings with the pastry. Trim excess dough along the edges and rest the tart shells for 15-30 minutes in the fridge. Use a fork to prick holes in the bottom of the tart shells. 

Preheat the oven to 175C and bake the tart shells until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

Hazelnut sponge: Preheat oven to 175C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Toast the hazelnuts until golden brown, about 15 minutes, and leave to cool before grinding to nut flour.

Mix together the hazelnut flour, 50g of cane sugar and egg yolk in a bowl and whisk in the melted butter. 

Sieve together flour, baking powder and salt and mix into the batter. Whisk the egg whites with the remaining 25g of sugar to soft peaks and fold into the batter until the batter falls from the spatula. 

Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread out to about 1cm thickness. Bake for 5-6 minutes and leave to cool on a wire rack. Cut out 6 rounds of cake that fit inside the cooled tart shells.

Bergamot olive oil ganache: Add the chopped chocolate to a heat proof bowl. Bring cream and glucose to a boil over medium heat and pour over the chocolate. Stir with a spatula in the centre until the chocolate is melted, and continue to stir while slowly drizzling in the olive oil. If mixture begins to split, emulsify using an immersion blender. Season with salt to taste. Pour the ganache into a piping bag and pour over the hazelnut sponges in the tart shells. Leave to set.

Poached pear: Heat the water, Pastis and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and remove from heat. Slice the pears thinly on a mandolin and add to the warm liquid and cook until just tender, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid from the pears. Cut out discs of pear and arrange on the ganache tarts.

Serve immediately.

Lemon olive oil brownies with rosemary almond praline

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Lemon olive oil brownies with almond rosemary praline  

Makes one 20cm round or square baking pan

Salted almond praline with rosemary 

100g blanched almonds
120g sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. finely chopped rosemary 

Preheat the oven to 175C and toast the almonds for 10 minutes. Make a dry caramel with the sugar in a small saucepan, remove from heat and mix in warm almonds, salt and rosemary. Cool completely on a silicone mat or a piece of baking paper. Coarsely chop and set aside. 

Lemon olive oil brownies

150g lemon olive oil, alternatively 150g fruity olive oil and zest of 1 lemon
100g 70% chocolate 
225g granulated sugar 
75g brown sugar 
3 medium eggs, straight from the fridge 
75g all purpose flour 
75g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. Salt 

Warm olive oil over low heat to about 45-55C and add in the chocolate. Stir to melt the chocolate and set aside. 

Whisk eggs with both sugars until very pale and airy, about 6-8 minutes. Drizzle in the chocolate mixture while whisking on low speed until fully incorporated. 

Sieve together salt, flour and cocoa and fold into the chocolate mixture until only just combined. Fold in chopped praline and transfer the dough to a cake pan lined with buttered tinfoil. Bake at 175C for app. 25 minutes, until center of the cake is 96C. Cool to room temperature.