KitchenBaroness: No-bake Intensely Chocolatey Tart

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No-bake Intensely Chocolate Tart

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It's so insanely chocolatey, I suggest you help yourself to just a small slice.

Nigella Lawson was on late night TV and I was having a case of insomnia brought about by that last cup of Nespresso I just had to have after dinner.

This tart stood out because it was so beautiful. It looked like chocolate madness -a round of satin dark chocolate sitting on an even darker base. It warrant a closer look. I sat up on the bed and shimmied by pyjamaed bottom closer to the google box. Oh yes, the tart looked even better up close. The wonders of high resolution TV.

There and then I decided I had to make this tart and that says a lot because I am not a chocoholic by any stretch. Instead, I would call myself a selective chocolate eater.

The only chocolate praline I would eat are the Belgian, Leonidas and then again I am very particular and will only eat the gold foil wrapped Gianduja. Leonidas describes them as "delicate and full of chocolate and hazelnut flavour" and how right they are. Is it no wonder that "it has been a Leonidas' signature piece for decades". I digress. Back to the tart.

For her chocolate tart base, Ms Lawson uses a bag of Oreos which I am not keen on. I much prefer the Italian bag of chocolate biscuits, Pan di Stelle.

Have you tried them? They are awesome. You know how good Nutella is? You do know Nutella is a mix of chocolate and hazelnuts don't you? The Italians got their bag of chocolate cookies right too! And like Nutella, these cookies have hazelnuts in them.

Imagine Nutella cookies. Pan di Stelle might be the closest 'Nutella-tasting cookie' that is available off supermarket shelves. Nothing beats homebaked full-on chocolate cookies but Pan di Stelle biscuits are perfect for my tart base. Unlike Oreos, there are no cream centres, just plain Nutella-tasting chocolate cookies.

The Pan di Stelle biscuits make such a chocolatey base, I am already thinking of rolling them into truffle balls to be then covered in melted Valrhona chocolate and dusted with cocoa powder.

With regard to the chocolate filling, I learnt something new from the domestic goddess -eggs are redundant, at least for the filling. Corn flour can set the chocolate filling so nicely you could slice through the tart and the slice will keep its shape as long as you have the ratio of ingredients right.

Nigella reaches for double cream to make her chocolate filling. It's so much easier for me to use a can of evaporated milk and I even use up the entire can so there is no leftover or wastage to deal with. If you are wondering if using that interferes with the taste of the chocolate, the answer is no, not at all. The 70% bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder are the only flavours that will hit your tastebuds. I always use French brand, Valrhona here for the best chocolate flavour.

Other benefits of evaporated milk over double cream? Cost and a longer shelf life! Should I get caught up with work, I can postpone tart making almost indefinitely whereas those double cream have a relatively short shelf life. The last thing I need is to worry over how I must use the double cream before it expires.

Thanks to my late night cup of Nespresso and Nigella, I have a Nigella-inspired no-bake crazily intense chocolate tart that the die-hard chocoholics I have fed it, as rich as it is, can't get enough of.

NO-BAKE INTENSELY CHOCOLATEY TART

Prep:	25 minutes
Cook:	10 minutes
Inactive:	~ 12 hours to overnight for setting tart
Level:	Moderately easy
Makes:	9" or 10" (22.8 cm or 25.4 cm) tart
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	No
Make ahead?	Yes, 3 days in advanced

Just the ingredients

(12.34oz) (350g) bag of Pan di Stelle
OR
(12.34oz) (350g) similar chocolatey tasting chocolate biscuits/cookies

(2.11oz)(60g) unsalted butter

(2.11oz)(60g) 70% bittersweet chocolate
1/4 teaspoon smoked salt

1 can (13.35oz) (395ml) evaporated milk (divided between base & filling)

Tart filling
(3.52oz)(100g) 70% bittersweet chocolate

4 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

4 Tablespoons (~1.58oz)(~45g) brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon smoked salt

4 Tablespoons (~1.26oz)(~36g) cornflour

Ingredients

(12.34oz)(350g) bag of Pan di Stelle
Italian crisp chocolate biscuits/cookies made with cocoa and hazelnuts. I bought my bag from a better stocked supermarket.
OR
(12.34oz)(350g) similar chocolatey tasting chocolate biscuits/cookies
If you choose to use Oreos, you need 350g weight without the cream centers.

(2.11oz)(60g) unsalted butter

(2.11oz)(60g) 70% bittersweet chocolate
I use Valrhona. I have used their 60% too and it works just as well.

1/4 teaspoon smoked salt
Nigella Lawson asked for smoked salt which I happen to have but it makes no real difference so it's fine to use ordinary salt .

3 and 1/2 Tablespoons or enough evaporate milk to bind the biscuit crumbs *

* Remove this amount from the can of evaporated milk.

Tart filling

(3.52oz)(100g) 70% bittersweet dark chocolate
I use Valrhona. I have used their 60% too and it works just as well.

4 Tablespoons cocoa powder

I use Valrhona.

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

1 can (13.35oz)(395ml) evaporated milk *
~ 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons or so of this would have been used earlier to bind the biscuit crumb base so you would be using what's left in the can for the tart filling.

Cans of evaporated milk come in varying volumes. Should you have any excess, scroll down to 'Tips' to find out how you can use those up.

4 Tablespoons (~1.58oz)(~45g) brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon smoked salt
Nigella Lawson asked for smoked salt which I happen to have but it makes no real difference so it's fine to use ordinary salt .

4 Tablespoons (~1.26oz)(~36g) cornflour

3 and 1/2 Tablespoons evaporated milk
* Remove this amount from the can of evaporated milk. It's to be mixed with the corn flour.

Method

Tart base

You need a 9" (22.8cm) or 10" (25.4cm) loose bottom tart/pie pan.

Melt unsalted butter and chocolate

Microwave: It is easiest to do this in a microwave in progressive bursts of 20 - 30 seconds of power until it is 3/4 melted. Stirring and checking each time. Add the salt, let the butter and chocolate complete dissolving in the residual heat. If you overheat the chocolate, it will congeal and you cannot salvage it.

Stovetop: Fill a saucepan with ~ 1.5" (3.81cm) of water. Fit a heatproof bowl over the saucepan. The bottom of the saucepan should not touch the water.

Add the butter and chocolate into the heatproof bowl, turn on heat to medium. When the butter and chocolate is 3/4 melted, add the salt, turn off the heat and let the mix continue to melt in the residual heat

Assembling the tart base

Crush the biscuits into a powder with a rolling pin but it is easiest to use a food processor.

Mix 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons of evaporated milk into the melted butter and chocolate. Stir that into the crushed biscuits. It should look and feel like a drier version of wet sand. Refer to the picture below. Add more evaporated milk if you think it is necessary but 3.5 Tablespoons has always worked for me.

Press the mix into the tart pan. I use the flat surface of my wooden rolling pin. Pack it in tightly. Set the tart on a flat tray for stability and leave to set for at least 4 - 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Cover loosely with aluminium foil.

Tart filling

Mix the 3 and 1/2 Tablespoons evaporated milk with the 4 Tablespoons corn flour. Set aside.

In a saucepan, add the remaining evaporated milk, bittersweet chocolate, instant coffee powder, brown sugar and smoked salt. Heat over medium heat and whisk to dissolve.

When the chocolate has been dissolved, sift in cocoa powder and continue to whisk to incorporate. If you think the chocolate mixture is heating up too much, either reduce the temperature of the burner or remove the pot from the stove and whisk the mixture away from the burner. Then, return pot back to the burner. In fact, I move my pot back and forth from the burner quite often to prevent anything burning.

Once the cocoa powder has been well incorporated (and do not let the chocolate mixture boil at any time), give your corn flour and evaporated milk slurry a good mix before adding it in a steady stream whilst whisking it in with whisk in your other hand.

Once the corn flour is added, you have to whisk continuously so that the mixture can thicken evenly. If it doesn't seem to be thickening fast enough, increase the temperature a little. Remember, if the mixture starts to thicken too fast for you to control, remove from the burner and whisk away and return it back to the burner.

The mixture needs to thicken up to a consistency similar to an American pancake batter -perhaps a little less thick. Another example, it has to be a little thicker than the consistency of double/thickened/heavy cream.

Transfer into a cereal bowl and cover with a plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the thickened chocolate to avoid it forming a skin. Do not leave it in the pot. It might burn.

When the chocolate is no longer piping hot (between hot to warm), pour it into the prepared cookie-crumb tart shell. You can't pour the thickened chocolate in whilst it is still hot or the tart might start to disintegrate. Leave it too long to cool and the chocolate mixed would have set.

Cover loosely with aluminium foil. Refrigerate immediately and wait at least 8 hours before serving. It's best to leave it overnight.

This tart is intensely chocolatey and rich. I suggest you be modest with serving slices.

Do not let the tart sit indefinitely outside of the refrigerator, as it will start to soften.

Tips

Should you have any leftover evaporated milk, here are some ways to use them up

Very mango-tasting and an easy recipe using just 5 ingredients, my Dim Sum Mango Pudding.

Then there is my Mexican Inspired Lime and Lemongrass Infused Caramel Flan. It's rich and satisfying like how a good caramel flan should taste but I have cut the cloying richness with a little lime and lemongrass.

Evaporated milk makes a Quick Mac And Cheese that is never chalky tasting.

If you only have a little evaporated milk left, it would be just the right amount for the following:

The ultimate icy chocolate drink, Milo Dinosaur!