cacao // chocolate // cioccolato // sjokolade // chocolat // suklaa

The first day of our trip started out in the colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala. A city that makes you feel like you stepped back in time with its cobblestone streets and sleepy and relaxed pace. There aren't even street signs, but that's not something you bother worrying about. An air of peacefulness just settles over you as soon as you step foot in it. Not long after we checked in and unpacked were we on our way to the Cacao Museo for a bean to bar class. Purely for  research purposes, of course. 

Class started off with the instructor offering up raw cacao beans for tasting while going over the history of Chocolate dating all the way back to 1900BC. Chocolate played an extremely important role in Mayan life. It was used as currency, for drinking, medicine, and as a offering to the gods during religious ceremonies. Maybe the expectation that cacao bean would have some hint of chocolate is what made it utterly repulsive to me, or the fact that it tasted like bitter slime. Thankfully, from that point on the cacao bean goes on an adventure to deliciousness. Crushing and roasting and grinding and melting until you end up with a shiny, silky, viscous liquid to be molded into artisan chocolates.

I greedily held on to my 100% Guatemalan chocolate for months and months, unable to come up with a dessert worthy of its use. This chocolate tart makes chocolate the center of attention, and was worth every ounce of my precious chocolate. A buttery and flaky crust and a light sprinkling of sea salt flakes balance out the sweetness and allow it to shine. I also whipped up some cream and lightly sweetened it with vanilla and cinnamon.

The crust for this tart is by far the simplest yet hands down the best crust I have made to date. The painstaking process of practically frozen butter + practically frozen vodka + a feather light touch and working at lightning speed yields great results but let's face it, sometimes you just don't have the patience or time for that kind of thing. I discovered this method via David Leibovitz, who learned it from a French woman himself. A must try if you don't have an entire evening to dedicate to tart shell making. I can see it working well with savory quiches as well. I changed things up a bit by melting the ingredients on the stove top instead of putting a bowl in the oven and it worked just fine. You just have to be extra watchful because butter can go from browned to burnt in the flash of an eye.

1

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine butter, oil, water, salt and sugar. All ingredients except the flour. Stir occasionally until melted and mixture has browned around the edges. Quickly remove from heat and stir in flour until the dough comes together and all of the flour has been absorbed by buttery goodness. Allow to cool.

2

When cool enough to touch, press dough into a tart pan with a removable bottom. Using a fork, poke holes into the tart dough

3

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the shell is a deep golden brown.

4

When tart shell has completely cooled, finely chop chocolate and place in a mixing bowl.

5

Prepare chocolate ganache filling by combining cream, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan until butter is melted. Pour over chocolate and stir until all chocolate is melted and mixture is shiny and smooth.

6

Fill tart shell with chocolate ganache, sprinkle with sea salt flakes to taste, and refrigerate for two hours or until ganache has set. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream if desired.

 

Dark Chocolate + Browned Butter + Sea Salt Tart

for the dough:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

for the filling:

8 ounces highest percentage chocolate you can find. I used 100% but anything above 60% will still work, finely chopped

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon table salt

Sea salt flakes, to taste

1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine butter, oil, water, salt and sugar. All ingredients except the flour. Stir occasionally until melted and mixture has browned around the edges. Quickly remove from heat and stir in flour until the dough comes together and all of the flour has been absorbed by buttery goodness. Allow to cool.

2. When cool enough to touch, press dough into a tart pan with a removable bottom. Using a fork, poke holes into the tart dough

3. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the shell is a deep golden brown.

4. When tart shell has completely cooled, finely chop chocolate and place in a mixing bowl.

5. Prepare chocolate ganache filling by combining cream, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan until butter is melted. Pour over chocolate and stir until all chocolate is melted and mixture is shiny and smooth.

6. Fill tart shell with chocolate ganache, sprinkle with sea salt flakes to taste, and refirgerate for two hours or until ganache has set. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream if desired.