Melt In Your Mouth Chocolate Tart–Thanksgiving or Any Holiday

I used to make apple pie and pumpkin pie and know what?  I had way too much pie leftover.  So then I started to bake things that people actually liked and ate.  Desserts for the holiday have rotated throughout the years.   One year I did baked apples, another time pear tart tatin, cranberry upside down cake, and a disastrous coconut cream pie.   So this year since it’s going to be a slightly smaller larger gathering I’m going to go with what I did last year—Melt in your mouth chocolate tart, apple/pear tart and pumpkin flan.  But certainly everyone’s favorite is the chocolate tart.  Well except Nahid. Enjoy.

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH CHOCOLATE TART

Dough

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 1/2 sticks of unsweetened butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 egg

Filling

• 7 oz. really good chocolate I use Valrohona Trader Joe’s has great 3.5 oz bars by the check out
• 1 cup cream
• 1/2 cup milk (I’ve use 1% with stellar results)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg

For tart bottom

1. Place butter and sugar in mixer and blend with paddle attachment until smooth.
2. While the butter blends, sift dry ingredients together.
3. Once the butter mixture is smooth and fluffy, add egg.  Beat on low until just incorporated.
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until a dough forms.
5. Shape into ball.  Split in half, wrap each half in plastic.  Put on in refrigerator, freeze the other.  It will last until Christmas when you’ll want to make this again.  Oh yes, that’s how much praise you’re going to get.
6. Chill dough for at least an hour.  This is a necessary step because this is a very tender crust.
7. Roll out dough on floured surface.  This falls apart very easily so work fast.  Place flatten dough in 9″ tart pan.  Chill for half hour.
8. Bake in 350 oven for 15 minutes, please check because the crust will pop up, push it flat with a fork.  Continue baking for another 15 minutes or until done.  Remove, reduce oven temp to 300.

1. For filling: Break chocolate into small pieces in a medium sized bowl.
2. Place cream, milk and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to boil.
3. In small increments pour hot liquid over chocolate stirring after each addition to melt the chocolate.  This insures that your chocolate will be smooth.  Trust me if you pour all the liquid in at the same time you get a grainy mess.
4. In a separate bowl beat the egg.
5. Pour about 1/2 a cup of the chocolate mixture to the egg just so it is combined (don’t over mix.  Then add the egg/chocolate to the rest of the chocolate, incorporating slowly as not to create air bubbles.
6. Place tart pan with baked crust onto a baking sheet. Pour chocolate mixture into baked tart bottom. Tap tart to free air bubbles or hunt them out and bust them.
7. Bake for 20 minutes in 300 oven, then rotate and bake for another 20 minutes.  Edges should be set and the middle a little jiggly.
8. Enjoy.