The Chocolate Tart Recipe by Philippe Conticini

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Chocolate tart is a modern dessert characterized by the power of cocoa.

However, ganache was born much earlier around 1850 when apprentices accidentally spilled hot cream on chocolate. The Pâtissier Siraudin would then have called them “ganaches” an expression of the time to qualify the morons. Gaston Lenôtre had then made a dessert visually close to the famous current chocolate tart with nougatine, in the 1960s.

Nowadays the chocolate tart is often associated with a shortbread or shortcrust pastry which gives it an impressive visual purity to match its taste intensity.
The chocolate tart has become essential in all good pastries and pastry chefs now prepare it with chocolate from the original Grands Crus, cocoa nibs, slivers of dried fruit, and even chilli!

These contemporary associations make the chocolate tart a definitely modern pastry. Here is Chef Philippe Conticini 's recipe:

Dark chocolate tart with hazelnut chips

4 people - preparation 1h - cooking 15min - rest 8h

Chocolate pie ingredients

For the sweet pastry :

• 100g fresh butter
• 65g icing sugar
• 20g ground almonds
• 170g flour
• 42g of eggs
• 2g of salt

For the chocolate ganache :

• 85g cream
• 15g glucose syrup
• 15g acacia honey
• 75g dark chocolate 72%
• 10g fresh butter

For the finish :

• 100g crushed hazelnuts
• 20g dark chocolate
• Guérande salt flower

Philippe Conticini's Recipe

• Sweet pastry :

In a mixing bowl, weigh the butter and put it in the microwave until you obtain an ointment texture.

Transfer the butter to a bowl. Add the icing sugar, ground almonds and salt.

Start the mixture gently with the mixer's leaf tool or by hand using a spatula .

Then gradually add the tempered eggs, then the flour . Once the mixture is homogeneous, corn the whole thing and turn over for 1 minute, then clear the tank.

Square the dough on a sheet of baking paper, to a thin and even thickness. Reserve in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Cut out the dough taken in the cold using a cardboard template to form a cross to cut the dough and be able to fold the edges, otherwise use a 12cm square cookie cutter and bard the edges.

Roll in 8x8cm stainless steel squares previously greased with butter. Leave to rest for 1 hour in the cold.

Preheat the oven to 175°C then bake for 8 minutes at 165°C. Remove the molds and finish cooking for 3 to 4 minutes.

• Chocolate Ganache :

In a saucepan, heat the cream , glucose syrup and honey . Mix regularly with a whisk.

Place the melted chocolate in a container. At around 80°C, pour the cream over the chocolate in several batches.

Mix gently with a spatula to make a ganache , gradually incorporating the hot cream. Add the butter cut into small pieces.

Spread 20g of melted dark chocolate over the tart bases using a brush, then sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts.

Fill the tart shells generously with the ganache and leave to set at room temperature for 3 hours.

Philippe Conticini advises us when tasting the tartlets, to flash them in the oven for 30 seconds at 165°C, then to sprinkle with a pinch of fleur de sel and crushed hazelnuts .

Chef's Tips :

• You have to let the dough rest for a good hour in the cold so that it does not fall on the sides during cooking . If you are in a hurry add a few dried beans on the bottom of the pie.

• Roast your hazelnuts before crushing them for even more intense flavors . Bake them in the oven at 160°C twice for 10 minutes, keeping an eye on them.

• In order to avoid undercooking the dough, prefer a raw ganache recipe or a blind-cooked dough at the start and thus avoid unpleasant surprises.

• Do not make your pie at the last moment because of the risk of the ganache dripping because it needs time to freeze slowly.

• Philippe Conticini insists on the choice of a good quality chocolate couverture for this recipe because chocolate is the major ingredient of this tart. Avoid supermarket chocolate bars .

• To obtain a pie with clean edges like the pros, gently pass a sieve over the edges of the cooked pie before pouring the ganache.

Our advice :

• Change the chocolate color and redo the recipe with blond, white or milk chocolate according to your taste.

• Add a layer of melting caramel under the ganache or praline to multiply the pleasure even more.

• Combine spices with your chocolate such as cinnamon, tonka, cardamom, chilli, etc.

• Besides, Philippe Conticini does not only master chocolate tart but also lemon tart, tarte tatin, rhubarb tart, strawberry tart, fig tart as well as his famous praline tart.

The important ingredients of this pastry:

Chocolate :

The wonder of wonders, the king ingredient of baking . "But how did humanity do before the discovery of chocolate?!" asks Philippe Conticini .

Many brands of chocolate are unfortunately of poor quality. So choose brands with ethical and transparent policies.

Prefer couverture chocolates because they are richer in cocoa butter and the results in baking are incomparable. You won't be able to do without it!

We much prefer Valrhona chocolates, the favorite brand of chocolatiers and pastry chefs in France.

The range of couverture chocolates is varied; Less sweet white chocolate, blond chocolate with caramel flavors, dark chocolate with notes of red fruits , etc...

The Ganache :

Magical emulsion between chocolate and cream found in many pastry and chocolate recipes. Its consistency is dense, unctuous and concentrated like a chocolate candy . The chocolate chefs compete in imagination to give it delicious natural flavors.

Ganache is also found in a softer and less intense version in the best pastry desserts. Contemporary pastry chefs often prepare whipped ganache to make it smoother and lighter. It is whipped after a few hours of rest, which gives it a more airy and easy-to-handle mousse texture.

In summary, the ganache is good with everything!

Useful utensils for this recipe:

The immersion blender :

In the family of blenders, the immersion blender , also called an arm blender, holds a special place. It is practical, mobile and powerful because it has the ability to mix fluidly and homogeneously by incorporating the minimum amount of air into the preparation.

Be careful though because it will not replace the blender which is preferable for mixing or crushing hard ingredients such as hazelnuts for example.

Choose a blender with strong blades that won't warp and a motor powerful enough to puree fruit without overheating.

The scale :

Once you have reached the level of amateur baker, grandmother's recipes with approximate quantities will no longer be part of your recipe book.

This is the border between cakes and pastries!

The quality of your pastries will now depend on this harmless utensil. Your scale must absolutely have the “tare” function and an accuracy to the nearest gram .

Then if you want to make complex recipes based on dyes or stabilizers, you will need a precision scale .

Do it yourself !

Now you know Philippe Conticini 's recipe and its little secrets. It's your turn to try to master the sweet paste and the chocolate ganache.

This recipe is more gourmet and chocolatey than that of Mercotte .

With the right equipment and the right recipe, you will perform miracles in the kitchen and surprise your loved ones.

Discover our equipment and utensils for the realization of this pastry by clicking on the image below.