Chocolate Truffle Tart
Apple and pumpkin get all the glory on Thanksgiving, but we tend to ignore the fact that chocolate desserts have a 99.99% success factor in being a crowd pleaser. This tart hits ALL the notes I require in a dessert. It looks incredibly fancy and time consuming, but takes less than 20 minutes to put together. A tiny sliver will satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth and it lasts for ages in the fridge, meaning you can make it once and nibble on it all week. The crust is so adaptable and can be used in place of the chocolate cookie crusts in any pie recipe. It can be made dairy or gluten free depending on your needs...see what I mean? It’s a winner!
Ingredients:
Crust:
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup flour (you can use gluten free here!)
pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
Truffle layer:
16 ounces good dark chocolate that you like the taste of! (we like these chocolate chips or Alter Eco Chocolate)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
plus a pinch of flaky sea salt for topping
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix all of the crust ingredients together until you get a dough. Press it into a 9 or 10 inch tart pan (really, you can use whatever dish you’ve got, but it will affect the thickness of the crust and truffle layers!). I use one similar to this. Make sure to press it up the sides as well. Pop it in the oven for about 12-15 minutes to pre-bake. It will definitely look underbaked, but it’s not! It firms as it cools because it has a higher ratio of butter to flour. While the crust is baking, set up a double boiler which is a fancy way of saying: put a couple inches of water in a saucepan and place a metal bowl over top that covers the opening. This is an effective way of using steam to melt something without risking burning the ingredients. Put the chocolate, cream, salt, and vanilla in the bowl on top of the pot and let it melt over medium low heat. Give it a stir every so often to mix together. Once the chocolate is finally done melting you will have a gorgeously smooth chocolate ganache mixture. Pour it into the cooked crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle a bit of flaky sea salt over top and let it cool in the fridge for about 2 hours before slicing. Enjoy your deeeeelicious dessert!
