Notes: Serves 8. This recipe is quite a lot of work, but it will blow your mind. Goes particularly well with a dollop of limoncello ice cream.
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 175g butter
- 75g golden caster sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 250g plain flour
- 20g cocoa
For the filling:
- 200g Madagascan 64% dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 200ml whipping or double cream
- 200g light muscovado sugar
- 10g Maldon sea salt
For the topping
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 tsp Maldon sea salt
- 100g pecan halves
Method
To make the pastry
- Cream together the butter and sugar using a wooden spoon until light and creamy.
- Add the egg yolks and 35ml water and mix well until all the liquid has been incorporated.
- Gradually add the flour and cocoa until a paste is formed (use a food processor if you prefer).
- Wrap pastry in cling film, flatten it with your hand and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle work surface with flour and roll out the pastry to line a 24x2.5cm tart ring.
- Chill the pastry for 15 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, Gas Mark 4.
- Bake blind for 20 minutes, then bake uncovered for a further 5-8 minutes until the base is dry.
- Leave to cool.
To make the ganache filling
- Melt the ingredients in a Pyrex or metal bowl over (not in) a pan of boiling water.
- When the filling is glossy and thick, pour into the cold tart and refrigerate for 2 hours.
For the topping
- Heat a saucepan until warm and add the sugar, gradually mixing it until you have a golden liquid caramel.
- Add the salt and mix well.
- Add the pecans and, mixing thoroughly, quickly pour the mixture onto a sheet of baking parchment and spread out with a spatula.
- Allow to cool completely, then break into pieces to sprinkle over the ganache.
Drool.