As the temperature plummets and winter sets in full swing, so too does our burgeoning appetite for something a little more soul-warming and substantial. Cue: a rich bite of sweet relief in the form of Lewis Road Creamery’s decadent chocolate tart, conceived by their in-house creative baker Liv Glazebrook. Encompassing crumbly pastry with lashings of heavenly dark chocolate and smatterings of caramelised nuts, this dessert of kings serves as a delicious treat that will see you right through this season and into the next.
Ingredients
Chocolate base:
125g Lewis Road Creamery sour cream
210g plain flour
200g Lewis Road Creamery unsalted butter
40g cocoa
Filling:
1 cup Lewis Road Creamery premium double cream
200g dark chocolate
35g of Lewis Road Creamery unsalted butter
Caramelised Nuts:
100g toasted pistachios
100g toasted hazelnuts
1 cup sugar
⅓ cup water
Coffee cream:
300ml Lewis Road Creamery organic single cream
Shot of Nespresso (35-40mls)
1 tbsp Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate liqueur
Method
For the pastry, first, preheat the oven to 180°C. Dice the butter and place it in a food processor with the flour and cocoa, pulsing until the mixture takes on a sandy texture. Add the sour cream and continue to pulse until the dough starts to incorporate into a ball. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Lightly dust the bench with flour and proceed to roll the chilled pastry out until it reaches 2cm thickness.
Line a tart tin with thinned pastry and gently press it into the edges. Trim any excess, leaving roughly 5mm above the top of the tin to account for shrinkage. Using a fork, prick the base all over and cover with baking paper before weighing down with baking beads (use rice, chickpeas or lentils if you don’t have beads) and placing it into the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beads and bake for another 10 minutes before setting aside to cool completely.
Next, prepare the caramelised nuts by bringing the sugar and water to the boil in a saucepan without stirring. Reduce heat and allow to simmer until the mixture turns golden. Quickly remove from heat and mix in the nuts until coated. Pour onto a lined tray to cool.
For the chocolate filling, chop the dark chocolate into small pieces and place into a medium-sized bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until just before it boils, then pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add the butter and continue to mix until glossy. Pour this into the tart case and refrigerate. Top with the nuts before serving.
To prepare the coffee cream, whip the cream while simultaneously adding the coffee and liqueur. Serve as a perfect accompaniment.
