Crostata al cioccolato e lamponi

I present you today a sumptuous chocolate tart. One of my favourites ever. It comes form a Trish Deseine recipe, from the book I love cake. I mostly revised the recipe, transforming it in a raspberries chocolate dessert: I used another pastry dough, I add a raspberries layer and I softened the chocolate filling (the original version is an intense explosion of chocolate, for chocolate addicted). The result is a wonderful tart, really well balanced between the tartness of the raspberries and the deepness of the dark chocolate. It is a very seductive tart, without doubt.

Crostata al cioccolato e lamponi
Chocolate and raspberries tart

18cm tart tin

Cocoa shortcrust pastry 

    • 235gr plain flour (00 type - T405)
    • 1 egg
    • 100gr icing sugar
    • 150gr unsalted soft butter
    • 30gr cocoa powder (good quality, I used Dutch cocoa powder)
    • Pinch of salt

Sieve together the flour and the cocoa powder. Put the soft butter and the icing sugar into a bowl and mix together. Add the egg, a pinch of salt and the mix of flower and cocoa powder. First work with a spoon and then with your fingertips, until the dough comes together. It will be very soft, if you fill that is too much, add just a bit of flower. Shape it in a ball and press gently to form a flattish disk. Wrap in cling film and set aside in the fridge for five hours, better for a night. 

The pastry will make more than you’ll need. It will keep well in the fridge wrapped in cling film up to three days. You’ll have enough for other two small tarts, or some cookies. If you do not plan to bake immediately, it also freezers well, for up two months.

Heat the oven to 180°C.  Butter the sides and the bottom of the tin tart, then cover the bottom with a small circle of parchment paper. Take the shortcrust pastry from the fridge, dust with flour and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper. The pastry should be not more than 2-3mm thin. Lift the pastry on the rolling pin and place it over your tin. Press it into the sides, cutting out the excess. Use a fork to make small holes in the tart sheet, line the pastry case with baking parchment and beans and bake blind for 15 minutes. Then remove the parchment and the beans and return to oven for a further 5 minutes. Set aside for 10 minutes, remove from the tin and place it on a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate and raspberries layer

    • 100gr raspberries
    • 50gr dark chocolate (58% good quality, for me Belgian one)

Melt the dark chocolate. Put the raspberries in a small saucepan and cook it on a low heat until completely melted. Add the melted chocolate and mix together. Spread the cream in the cooled pastry case and put in the freezer for few minutes, while preparing the chocolate cream filling.

Chocolate filling

    • 130gr good quality dark chocolate (for me half 58% and half 70%, Belgian chocolate)

    • 100gr double cream

    • 1 and ½ yolks (if you use a big egg, one yolk is enough)

    • 25gr soft unsalted butter

Chop coarsely the dark chocolate and put in a bowl. Make the cream hot (I warmed it in the microwaves) and pour it in two times on the chopped chocolate, until form a smooth and glossy cream. Whisk vigorously to low a bit the temperature, then add the yolks and the soft butter. Mix together until smooth. 

To assemble. Take out from the freezer the pastry case then spread uniformly the chocolate filling into it. Set in the fridge for an entire night.

At least one hour before serving, take the tart out from the fridge. The chocolate cream has to became room temperature. Decorate with some fresh raspberries and dust with icing sugar, if you like.