Chocolate Tart

If I could only eat one chocolate dessert for the rest of my life, this would be the one. Seriously... the chocolate tart from Gjelina is that good. I've made a lot of chocolate desserts in my lifetime, and this one is so incredibly chocolate-y, I want to just keep making it over and over again, never mind all the other recipes I could be trying. It has a perfect firm shell so you get a little crunch, and then this dense, fudgy interior that is irresistible (to me). A little slice goes a long way, although if you sit for a while with it next to your elbow, you're liable to eat a lot more of it than that.

I picked Gjelina's chocolate tart to test because I was having my favorite NYC scientists over and I know they love chocolate and, perhaps more pertinently, it was the only dessert recipe in this cookbook for which I already had all the ingredients.

Travis Lett writes that they try to keep their chocolate desserts at Gjelina simple and focused on the major ingredient. It's true, this chocolate tart is really simple - the ingredient list is pretty short and while it takes some advance planning, it requires surprisingly little effort to put together, especially when you opt to use the microwave instead of fashioning your own double boiler. But... the finished product looks beautiful and tastes anything but simple. If you like brownie batter, you'll love this tart, because that's kind of what the interior tastes like, only way way better. I hesitated to write that last sentence, because I don't actually like brownie batter [I'm not sure why], but I adored this tart. It's perfect for bringing to a dinner party, serving at a casual dinner, eating on a rainy day, ... really any time.

I confess, I am extra impressed by restaurant cookbooks that do both savory and sweet well - Gjelina definitely is one of those cookbooks, and I cannot wait to test more of these recipes!

Chocolate Tart from Gjelina

A chocoholic's dream dessert. Some planning ahead is required, as you'll need to make the crust at least 4 hours before you plan to serve the tart, however it is well worth the wait! This tart is pure chocolate-y decadence.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chocoholic, Gjelina

Prep Time: 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Chilling/cooling time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 4 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 slices

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (50 grams) almond meal
• ½ cup (50 grams) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• ½ cup (110 grams) ground pine nuts (or pistachios or pecans)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup (225 grams / 2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar

Chocolate Filling

• 1 cup (225 grams / 2 sticks) butter
• 2 ½ ounce (70 grams) dark chocolate (73-77% cacao) broken into chunks
• 1 ½ tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder*
• 1 cup (200 grams) packed light brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 large eggs at room temperature

For serving (optional)

• Whipped cream and pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Crust

• Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, almond meal, pine nuts, and sea salt.
• Beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed using a mixer.
• Add the flour mixture, mix at low speed until just combined.
• Transfer the dough to a large sheet of parchment paper, then place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough. Roll out the dough into a 12-13 inch circle, about ⅛ inch thick.
• Butter a 9 or 10-inch round springform pan. Press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
• After chilling, preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the tart shell for 10-15 minutes, until it is firm to your touch. The crust may slouch down a little as it bakes - Travis advises you not to worry - I just gently pressed my slouched dough back up once I took it out of the oven. Let it cool completely.

Filling

• Turn down the oven to 325 F [or pre-heat if you made the crust in advance].
• Place the butter and chocolate chunks in a bowl, microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat 30-second microwave+stirring process until completely melted and smooth [about 2-3 minutes total time microwaving].**
• Stir in the cocoa powder, then the brown sugar and salt. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat mixture until smooth and shiny.
• Add eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. The final mixture should be shiny and smooth.
  
• Pour the filling into the tart pan and bake until the filling puffs up a little and the surface is shiny, about 35 minutes. The center should not jiggle when you shake the pan.
• Remove from oven and cool in pan on a wire rack for 45 minutes.
• Remove the sides of the pan, slice and serve [with whipped cream and pomegranate seeds, if desired].

Notes

*I used Hershey's Dark Cocoa here.
**Instead of using a microwave, you could use the double boiler method described in the cookbook. I didn't find there to be any discernible advantage, but that's just me.
Set a large heatproof bowl [or the top piece of a double boiler] over 1 inch of water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add butter and chocolate to the bowl, stirring occasionally as they melt, until the sauce is smooth.
Whisk in the cocoa powder, then the brown sugar and salt. Continue whisking until the sugar dissolves completely and the mixture looks shiny. Add the eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. The final mixture should be shiny and smooth.
Storage: If your tart lasts that long, it can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator for about 5 days (bring it to room temp or eat cold) or pre-sliced and kept in the freezer for a couple months.