Espresso Tart Recipe. This tart is rich and creamy, full of flavour and the ultimate masterpiece for a dinner party.
Espresso Tart Recipe
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
9 dark, stemmed cherries and extra Dutch cocoa, to garnish
Ganache
200g bittersweet chocolate, chopped 70% cocoa
1 1/2 cups thickened cream
1 tbsp ground espresso beans
Pastry
1 1/4 cup plain flour, plus more for baking paper
3/4 tsp salt
⅓ cup Dutch cocoa powder
125g unsalted butter softened
1/4 cup caster sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp thickened cream
Mascarpone Cream
200g mascarpone
2 tbsp Kahlua or Baileys liqueur (optional)
Method:
Break the chocolate into a medium heatproof bowl, and set aside. Heat the cream and espresso beans together until just boiling, then remove from heat.
Pour cream mixture through a fine sieve over the chocolate; discard coffee solids. Let stand 2 minutes, then stir into chocolate, until smooth and chocolate has melted. Let ganache cool to room temperature. To make pastry, sift the flour, salt and cocoa powder into a bowl. Beat butter and caster sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, for about 4 minutes.
Add egg and vanilla, and mix until combined. Gradually add the sifted flour mixture in batches, alternating with the cream until a dough forms. Shape dough into a thick rectangle and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 13cm x 35cm top rectangular tin with a little melted butter. Roll out dough between two pieces of baking paper to fit the tin, and about 4mm thick. Press dough into tin to fit. Trim excess. Prick all over bottom of shell with a fork and blind bake with baking paper and baking beans.
Remove paper and beans after 10 minutes and bake for further 8 to 10 minutes, until firm. Leave to cool completely before removing from tin.
Whisk the cooled ganache in the bowl of an electric mixer until soft peaks form, for about 4 minutes. To make mascarpone cream, mix the Kahlua or Baileys into the mascarpone and beat until smooth. Spread the mascarpone mix over the bottom of tart shell with a spatula. Spread the ganache in a circular pattern around top of the tart to cover the mascarpone. Dust with extra Dutch cocoa and garnish with dark cherries with stems.
Smart Tip:
You can also make this tart using instant coffee instead of espresso beans – simply blend into the cream before boiling. If using this method, there’s no need to strain the mixture.