Black Forest Chocolate Tart with Fresh Cherries

Instructions

Preparing the tart tin

Line the bottom of your 10-inch tart tin with baking paper by removing the bottom, tracing around it on some baking paper and then placing on top of the bottom. This will stop the tart shell from sticking to the bottom of the tart tin. An issue I found I had in my testing. If you have a non-stick tart tin, sticking shouldn’t be an issue.

Crust (food processor)

Combine dry ingredients - Add the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and blitz for 20 seconds to combine.
Add butter and egg - Add the vanilla extract and butter and pulse until you reach lentil sized pieces. Add the whisked egg and blitz until small clumps of dough form.

Crust (by hand)

Combine dry ingredients - Add the flour, powdered sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl and use a whisk to combine.
Add butter and egg - Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub into the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs that look like they’ve been flattened. Add the whisked egg and vanilla extract and use a spatula to mix in until the dough begins to clump together and becomes too hard to mix with the spatula.
Form dough ball and chill - Turn the mixture out your workbench and bunch it together (without kneading). Form a rough disc shape and then wrap in plastic. Chill for a minimum of 1 hour.
Roll out dough - Lightly dust your workbench and rolling pin with flour. Place the chilled dough disc on the workbench and lightly dust the top with flour. Use a rolling pin to slowly roll dough disc out to 14 inches wide. Turn your dough as you roll and pinch together any cracks that might form around the edges as you roll.
Transfer dough over tin - Carefully roll over the rolling pin and then transfer and unroll over a 10-inch tart tin with removable bottom.
Form the tart - Carefully lift the dough over the tart to allow it to naturally fall into the corners of the tart. You don’t want to stretch it or it will shrink as it bakes and become uneven. Roll the rolling pin over the excess dough to cut clean. Discard excess dough.
Dock the tart - Place the tart tin on a baking tray. Use a fork to prick holes into the bottom of the tart shell. This is called ‘docking’ and will prevent your tart from puffing up too much as it bakes the second time.
Chill your tart - place the formed tart in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat a fan forced oven to 150C / 300F (170C / 340F for no fan).
Blind baking your tart shell - Scrunch up a large piece of baking paper and then un-scrunch it. Place on the inside of the tart tin. Fill with baking beads, dried chickpeas or dry rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven, carefully and slowly lift out the beads using the corners of the baking paper. Place them into a bowl or container to cool down for re-use. Brush with egg wash and bake for a final 5 minutes.

Filling

Turn the oven temperature up to 180C / 355F (210C / 240F for no fan)
Melt chocolates and butter - Add both chocolates and butter into a heatproof bowl and place on top of a pot of gently simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Gently stir until the two ingredients are melted and combined. Set aside to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
Whisk eggs and sugar - Add the 4 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk and the sugar to a large mixing bowl. Use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to whip until fluffy and pale. About 10 minutes. Add vanilla extract and whisk for 30 seconds.
Fold through eggs - Add a spoonful of the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture. Use a spatula to gently fold through. Add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and fold through.
Add flour and cocoa powder - Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the bowl and fold through until well combined taking care to mix from the bottom as well.
Layer the dessert - Add the jam to the cooled tart shell and spread around evenly. Add the chocolate filling and spread evenly using a spatula or spoon. Add the cherries on top.
Bake - Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature. Chill for 2 hours.

Chantilly Cream

Prepare mascarpone cheese - Add the mascarpone to a large mixing bowl (glass or metal) and use a spatula to stir and break up as some brands can be firmer than others. This helps break it up a little to prevent lumps in your whipped cream.
Whip remaining ingredients - Add the cold heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla to the mascarpone. Use an electric hand mixer fitted with beaters, or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment to whip on medium high speed until you reach stiff peaks. This usually takes about 3 - 4 minutes to achieve and looks stiff enough to hold its shape but still appears smooth. What you’re looking for is a smooth but stiff whipped cream, not one that looks split. If it looks split or separated, congratulations, you’re on your way to making butter and you’ll need to start again.

To Decorate

Take the tart out of the tart tin and place on a serving plate. Add half the whipped cream and spread around. Dust with cocoa powder and use a spoon or a spatula to swirl into the cream. Add the remaining cream and repeat. Finish with cherries on top.

Black Forest Chocolate Tart with Fresh Cherries

Ingredients

Chocolate Short Crust Pastry Shell

Filling

Chantilly Cream

Decorations

Instructions

Preparing the tart tin

Crust (food processor)

Crust (by hand)

Filling

Chantilly Cream

To Decorate

Video

Notes

Nutrition