Chocolate Tart with Shortbread Crust

Whether you love or loathe Valentine's Day, it is quickly approaching and that means many of us pull out all the stops for chocolate. If you do not plan to be all sweetness and light with your significant other, your boyfriend/girlfriend then at least do something for yourself and make your taste buds smile. This incredibly decadent chocolate tart would work nicely for the holiday, or any day or occasion in your future to satisfy the craving. The part I liked best about this particular recipe is that the chocolate is not overwhelmingly sweet. It just has an awesome smooth flavor that showcases the quality of your chocolate instead of making your teeth ache with sugar. The shortbread crust sets it a notch above with decadence. Serve this to your sweetie instead of the usual box of chocolates and I bet it will be a more memorable Valentine's this year.

*There are a couple tweaks to the recipe that make it more 'workable' so be sure to read it through if you decide to give it a go. *

Look at that creamy filling....divine.....

Chocolate Tart with Shortbread Crust

adapted from Tyler Florence

1-1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1 egg white

In a saucepan, melt the butter until melted then remove completely from the heat to add in both of the sugars. Mix to combine and then add in the flour. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool a little.

* Here is where the recipe calls for the dough to be rolled out. I found this to be nearly impossible as it flaked everywhere and shortcrust pastry is a pain to get rolled. I ended up pressing the dough into the 9" tart pan. Believe me, this route makes life much easier, unless you are a pastry chef and you have it all down.*

Fit the dough evenly into every nook of the tart pan and up the sides. Trim off the extras at the top and chill in the refrigerator for about 20 to 30 minutes.

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

8 ounces best quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs beaten

Preheat your oven to 350 and put your tart shell onto a baking sheet to make it easier to get in and out of the oven. Line the shell with foil and add pie weights or dried beans and bake for about 30 minutes. Then remove the foil along with the weights/beans and coat the shell with beaten egg white. Bake for another 8 minutes or until you see a light golden color and the shell is baked through. Do not let it brown! Take out to cool and reduce your oven temp to 325.

Make your filling by combining the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it just starts to bubble along the edges. Then take the pan off of the heat and stir in the chocolate, continuing to stir until completely smooth and glossy. Add in the sugar and salt to mix. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes then add in the eggs and whisk until they are completely blended. Pour this silky filling into your cooled tart shell and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

*I found, even though my oven temp was spot on, that the tart needed another 20 minutes after the first 20 was done. I went online and saw that others had the same problem so the extra time ended up being the fix. Just to make sure the crust didn't over-bake, I put foil along the edges.*

If you see large bubbles or cracks in the chocolate, take the tart out right away because it will start to overcook. Take out and cool and serve warm or at room temp. I stored mine in the fridge and it was quite tasty that way as well.