Chocolate Cherry Tart
This chocolate cherry tart features a chocolate shortbread cookie crust, chocolate ganache filling, cherry curd filling, and a chocolate glaze. Garnished with piped whipped cream, freeze dried cherry powder, chocolate shavings, and edible cherry glitter. Tastes equally amazing as it looks.
Equipment
- 1 (4 x 14-inch) removable bottom tart pan
Ingredients
Chocolate Shortbread Crust:
- 280 grams chocolate shortbread cookies (10 ounces)
- 42 grams unsalted butter (3 tablespoons), melted
- 1 gram fine sea salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- 150 grams heavy cream (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
- 3 grams espresso powder (1 teaspoon)
- 140 grams finely chopped dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips (5 ounces)
- 50 grams egg (1 large), beaten
- 5 grams vanilla bean paste or extract (1 teaspoon)
- 1 gram fine sea salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Cherry Curd:
- 350 grams pitted cherries (3 cups)
- 12 grams granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
- 1 gram ground cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon)
- 15 grams fresh lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
- 120 grams whole milk (1/2 cup)
- 12 grams cornstarch (1-1/2 tablespoons)
- 1 gram agar agar (1/2 teaspoon)
Chocolate Glaze:
- 45 grams heavy cream (3 tablespoons)
- 56 grams finely chopped dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips (2 ounces)
- 7 grams light corn syrup (1 teaspoon)
- 15 grams warm water (1 tablespoon)
Garnish:
- 80 grams heavy cream (1/3 cup), chilled
- 3 grams powdered sugar (1 teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon dark chocolate shavings
- 1 tablespoon freeze dried cherry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon edible cherry glitter
Instructions
Chocolate Shortbread Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add chocolate shortbread cookies to food processor. Process to fine crumbs. Add melted butter and fine sea salt to food processor and pulse until the mix is well combined.
- Transfer cookie crumb mixture to 4 x 14-inch removable bottom tart pan. Press crumbs into bottom and sides of tart pan.
- Line tart pan with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake tart shell in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Carefully lift parchment out of tart pan. Return tart pan to oven and bake for 5 additional minutes to firm bottom.
- Remove tart crust from oven and cool completely.
Chocolate Ganache Filling:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add heavy cream to saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in espresso powder.
- Add finely chopped chocolate to small bowl. Pour the hot cream over chocolate. Let it set for 3 minutes. Stir until smooth and well combined.
- Add beaten egg and stir until egg has been fully incorporated.
- Add vanilla bean paste and fine sea salt. Stir until incorporated. Mixture should be smooth and glossy.
- Pour chocolate ganache into cooled tart crust. Make sure the ganache is evenly spread across the bottom, in the corners, and about half way up the sides of the baked crust.
- Bake the tart in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Cherry Curd:
- Add pitted cherries, granulated sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice to food processor or blender. Process or blend until its almost smooth.
- Transfer cherry mixture to small saucepan. Add whole milk and cornstarch to saucepan. Stir to combine.
- Simmer cherry mixture over medium low until it begins to gently boil and thicken.
- Add agar agar powder to saucepan. Whisk continuously for 2 minutes.
- Remove from stovetop. Pour into strainer over small mixing bowl.
- Immediately pour over cooled chocolate ganache layer.
- Set aside to cool completely.
Chocolate Glaze:
- Add heavy cream to small bowl. Bring to boil in microwave oven.
- Add finely chopped dark chocolate to hot heavy cream. Stir until smooth and glossy.
- Add light corn syrup and water. Stir until well incorporated and mixture is smooth.
- Pour glaze over cooled cherry curd. Carefully tilt pan slightly to get glaze into corners and edges.
- Cool to room temperature.
- Tart can be chilled in refrigerator uncovered for several hours to overnight.
Garnish:
- Add heavy cream to stand mixer. Using whip attachment beat to stiff peaks. Add powdered sugar and beat long enough to combine.
- Pipe small dots of whipped cream on surface of tart.
- Sprinkle chocolate shavings, freeze dried cherry powder, and edible cherry glitter over tart.
Serve:
- Tart is best served sightly chilled up to room temperature (70 degrees F.) Remove tart from removable bottom tart pan. Slice into individual servings.