Rich Chocolate Tart

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.

To make the pastry:

In a food processor simply place all the dry ingredients then blitz briefly until well combined. Add then the chilled butter and blitz for a few seconds only until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  With the motor running then add the egg yolk and the 1 tbsp egg white (no more) and allow the dough to form into a ball.  Take the fairly sticky dough from the machine and wrap in greaseproof paper then chill for at least half an hour.

Do not roll out using flour as this will streak and colour your dark chocolate pastry.

Take two sheets of thin plastic. The liners from two breakfast cereal packets are perfect for this.  Carefully peel away the seams leaving two pieces of food grade plastic. I use them over and over again.

Place the dough in between the plastic sheets and start to roll out a circle until it is large enough to cover your flan tin.  If the pastry is sticky between the plastic pop it back into the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up.

Peel off one piece of plastic then with the pastry adhered to the other piece, lay the pastry face down into the tin. Use your fingers along the plastic to mould the pastry into the corners of the tin.  Chill for another 10-15 minutes before peeling off the second sheet of plastic.

After peeling off the second plastic – prick the base with a fork then line the chilled case with paper and baking beans.  The pastry can overlap the edges of the tin and be trimmed after blind baking.

Blind bake for 13 minutes then remove from the oven and carefully remove the paper and beans. The pastry can now be trimmed with a serrated knife whilst warm and set aside whilst the filling is prepared.  Lower the oven temperature to 100 degrees c

Chocolate filling :-

300g Dark chocolate chopped

150ml Milk

150ml double cream

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

To make the filling – break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a roomy bowl along with the vanilla. In a small saucepan place the milk and cream, place over a gently heat and allow to come up to simmering point.  Pour the warmed milk over the chocolate pieces and stir well until the chocolate is dissolved and the mixture is smooth and shiny.  Allow to cool down slightly then stir in the eggs.  Give everything a good mix then pour into the cooked, trimmed pastry case.

Make sure your oven has cooled right down then pop the tart into the very low oven and bake for 50 minutes.

Leave to go completely cold then decorate to your choosing. Raspberries are fabulous.