Decadent Salted Chocolate Tart

Tart’s are incredibly simple and beautiful looking desserts. They can be filled with just about anything from pastry cream, ganache, pudding, or pastry cream. I found a decadent salted chocolate recipe which comes from non other than the super talented Nigella Lawson. This chocolate tart is the not tart at all, it is rather sweet and salty all at the same time.

Ingredients

Pie Crust

28 oreo cookies (2 x 154g packets)

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids)

3 tablespoons soft unsalted butter

½ teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes

1 10 inch tart tin

Filling

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids)

3 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (sieved)

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (or strong instant coffee powder)

⅓ cup superfine sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or extract)

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

¾ teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes

Directions

For the Crust

Crumble the Oreo cookies into pieces and drop them into a food processor. Do this with the chocolate, then blend them together until you have crumbs. Add the butter and salt, and blend again until the mixture starts to clump together.

Press the crumb mixture into your tart tin and pat down on the bottom and up the sides of the tin with your hands or the back of a spoon, so that the base and sides are evenly lined and smooth. Put into the fridge to chill and harden for at least 1 to 2 hours.

For the Filling

Finely chop the chocolate. Put the cornstarch into a cup and whisk in the milk until smooth.
Pour the cream into a heavy-based saucepan into which all the ingredients can fit and be stirred without splashing out of the pan, add the finely chopped chocolate, the sieved unsweetened cocoa (or just sieve it straight in), espresso or instant coffee powder, sugar, vanilla paste or extract, olive oil and smoked salt. Place over a medium to low heat and whisk gently – I use a very small whisk for this, as I’m not aiming to get air in the mixture, I’m just trying to banish any lumpiness – as the cream heats and the chocolate starts melting.
Off the heat, whisk in the cornstarch and milk mixture until it, too, is smoothly incorporated, and put the pan back on a low heat. With a wooden spoon, keep stirring until the mixture thickens, which it will do around the 10-minute mark, but be prepared for it to take a few minutes more or less. Take the pan off the heat every so often, still stirring, so that everything melds together, without the cream coming to a boil. When ready, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, and if you run your finger through it (across the back of the spoon) the line should stay.
Pour the chocolate filling in a large measuring cup or bowl. Rip of a piece of plastic wrap and cover the chocolate filling so the plastic wrap is touching the chocolate. Place the covered chocolate filling in the fridge for 15 minutes. The mixture will still be warm, but will be the right temperature to pour into the pie crust without melting the crust.
Pour and scrape the mixture into the Oreo lined flan tin and put back in the fridge overnight. Don’t leave it longer than 24 hours, as the crust will absorb too much moisture and fall apart.
Take out of the fridge for 10 minutes before serving, but unmould straight away.
To unmould the tart, sit the base of the tin on a mason gar or large thick glass. Sit the flan tin on top of a large jar or glass and let the ring part fall off. Leave the tin base on.
Slice the tart as desired and serve. The tart will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.