Strawberry and Chocolate Tart Recipe

Berry Tempting: Strawberry and Chocolate Tart

May 13, 2010

My mother is not much of a foodie. If she had her way, she would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for lunch followed by pasta with chicken and artichoke hearts for dinner. However, since her daughter is a food journalist, she humors me. When I asked her what her ideal dessert (with strawberries) was, she replied, "I would love a strawberry and chocolate tart." Thus, I had to make her a strawberry and chocolate tart. I'm happy I did because everyone at our Mother's Day celebration loved this dessert! It's a simple tart with a walnut crust, chocolate ganache filling, and fresh strawberry topping. Be sure to allow plenty of time for the ganache to set; I didn't, and the tart ended up being a little soupy. The rich flavor was spot-on, though! This recipe is versatile; you can basically top the ganache with whatever fruit you want. Learn the easy and scrumptious method now.

From Bon Appétit

Strawberry and Chocolate Tart

Ingredients

Crust
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup walnuts (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup (generous) strawberry jam
Filling
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled, halved

Directions

For Crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in processor and mix. Add walnuts; process until chopped. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add yolks and process just until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten to disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes.
Preheat oven 375°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 11-inch round.
Peel off top sheet of paper. Transfer crust to prepared pan, pressing dough firmly to fit pan and patching if necessary. Discard paper. Trim edges of crust. Freeze crust 15 minutes.
Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Spread jam in crust. Return to oven and bake until jam sets, about 4 minutes. Cool completely on rack.
For Filling: Heat cream in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until tiny bubbles appear around edges. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Cool until mixture is room temperature and beginning to thicken but still pourable, stirring occasionally, about 50 minutes. Pour chocolate filling into crust. Refrigerate until filling is set, about 1 hour 45 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. cover and keep refrigerated.)
Arrange strawberries cut side down in concentric circles atop filling. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 1 hour.

Serves 8-10.