This week’s recipe is a simple chocolate tart of few ingredients so you need to use very good cooking chocolate with a high level of cocoa solids. Use plain chocolate if you prefer the more bitter taste.

INGREDIENTS
Serves six to eight

For the pastry:

250g plain flour

100g diced butter

100g icing sugar

Pinch of salt

Two eggs at room temperature

For the filling:

400g good quality cooking milk chocolate

200ml milk

300ml double cream

Seven eggs

70g caster sugar

For the glaze:

300ml water

350g sugar

120g cocoa powder

240ml double cream

METHOD

To make the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl and add the diced butter. Using the fingertips, lift the butter up with the flour and rub gently with the fingers, letting it fall back into the bowl. Once the mixture resembles a uniform crumble, add the sugar and salt and mix well. Then add the eggs and mix again, carefully bringing the mixture together to form a smooth ball. Wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge for at least twenty minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C (gas mark 5). Roll out the pastry enough to line an eight inch flan dish, trim to fit and prick the base with a fork a few times. To bake blind, cover the pastry on the bottom and sides of the flan with foil and weigh it down with a handful of dried beans or pasta. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and cool. Turn the oven down to 140°C (gas mark 1).

To make the filling, break up the chocolate and place in a mixing bowl. Put the milk and cream in a saucepan, bring to the boil, pour over the chocolate and mix. Place a small mixing bowl containing the eggs and the caster sugar over a pan of simmering water. Whisk whilst it’s heating until it turns white and thickens. Fold the egg and sugar mixture into the chocolate with a large metal spoon using a cutting action rather than stirring them together.

Pour the mixture into the pastry flan case and bake for 20 minutes (turning the tray after ten minutes). Allow to cool and then refrigerate until firm.

For the glaze, bring the water and sugar to the boil in a saucepan. Add the cocoa and cream, bring to the boil again and allow to reduce for 10 to 15 minutes, whisking occasionally. Do this until it looks like melted chocolate. Allow to cool a little and pour the glaze over the tart, smooth with a pallet knife and allow to set.

For a final flourish you could use a blow torch to “dust” the top of the glaze - one second should do it, otherwise you’ll melt the tart. When serving, to get a smooth cut, use a knife that has been dipped in hot water and dried.