Milk chocolate bay leaf ganache makes for a truffle-like filling with a crisp cookie crust. My perfect tart. Bay works beautifully with delicate milk chocolate, adding an unexpected layer of complexity.
This recipe makes enough dough for 12 individual tarts, but making a smaller quantity is quite difficult, so just make the whole batch and freeze half the dough for another time.
Makes 6 individual tarts
For the chocolate-almond pastry
unsalted butter 300g
icing sugar 60g, sifted
ground almonds 100g
fine sea salt ½ tsp
eggs 3
cocoa powder 60g
plain flour 380g
For the milk chocolate bay ganache
milk chocolate (preferably 35-40%) 320g, chopped into small pieces
double cream 290g
bay leaves 3 fresh or 6 dried
flaky sea salt to finish
For the pastry, cream the butter on a low speed. Add the sugar and cream a little longer. Add the ground almonds and cream well, but you’re not going for fluffy here, so don’t aerate the butter too much. Add the salt and then the eggs, one at a time, until combined. The mixture may not be smooth but this is fine. Add the cocoa powder just until combined. Add the plain flour in 2 batches on very low speed, just until it comes together – a moment or so. Do not over-mix. Gather into 2 balls, wrap each ball in clingfilm and chill for at least 4 hours.
The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
When you’re ready to roll, butter 6 individual tartlet ring moulds and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I use the rings with no bottoms as they are deep and have nice straight sides, but you could use fluted ones if you prefer. Alternatively, you can make 1 large tart.
On a well-floured surface, roll 1 ball out to about 4mm thick. Keep gently lifting the dough to make sure it doesn’t stick, adding more flour as needed. Cut circles of dough slightly larger than your moulds to accommodate the sides. Gently place the pastry over the buttered moulds and press down to fill evenly. Trim the excess from the edges and place the lined moulds in the fridge or freezer for about an hour.
When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 160C fan/gas mark 4. Line each pastry with a piece of parchment and fill to the brim with dried rice, beans or ceramic baking beans. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the baking beans and paper and bake for another 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
To make the ganache filling, weigh the chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl and set aside. Heat the cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the bay leaves, just until it starts to boil, then turn off the heat and cover. Let the leaves steep in the cream for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and heat the cream again (watch cream like a hawk, it can bubble over very quickly and create a mess). When the cream starts to bubble, pour it over the milk chocolate (removing the bay leaves) and let it sit in a warm place in the kitchen without stirring.
After 10 minutes, vigorously whisk together the chocolate and cream until smooth. If some unmelted pieces of chocolate remain, let the chocolate sit for another 10 minutes and whisk again. If you have a cool or draughty kitchen your ganache may solidify before it has properly melted. If this happens, place the bowl over a pan of simmering water for a few minutes, being careful not to overheat.
Pour the ganache into the baked tart shells and give them a little shake to settle the tops. Sprinkle with some flaky sea salt. They can be served immediately or left to set at room temperature, which may take up to 2 hours.
Claire Ptak is the owner of Violet Cakes, London E8
