Chocolate Ganache Tart | Easy Entertaining

  

This is a dessert standard in the Bresler home. I'm sure every one of my friends have eaten this at least twice - and without complaint. It is both an entertainer and a guest's dream dessert - easy to make ahead of time, means no fussing while guests are around, and the rich, dense chocolate filling is sure to delight anyone with a sweet tooth.

If you were looking for the perfect occasion to try and make your own short crust pastry - this would be it.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
70g butter, in cubes

40g icing sugar

125g flour

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp water

For the filling:

150ml cream

1 tbsp caster sugar

50g butter

250g chocolate (I use 50% milk, 50% dark)

25ml additional cream

Method:
Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Drop in your cubes of butter, and very lightly, using just your fingertips rub it into the flour, until the whole mixture resembles bread crumbs and is a light yellow. Add the egg yolk to the crumby mixture and stir in with a knife (will prevent your hands getting too sticky at this stage!) Once the yolk has worked its way around the bread crumbs, add just enough water to bind the mixture (approximately 1-2 tablespoons) and get in there with your hands and squish it all together. If you find the pastry too wet, sprinkle it with a bit more flour.  You are looking for a mixture that stays together, but doesn't stick to your hands.

You can place it in the fridge in a ball for a few minutes, but I find no problem using it immediately. Roll out the pastry (rolling pin and surface dusted with flour to prevent sticking) until it's about 5mm thick, and place it in a greased (and flour dusted) 23cm cake tin. Trim edges so it fits perfectly, and there is no overhang over the top of the tin.

Place this in the oven at 180 degrees C for approximately 15 minutes, until the edges and base is a light tan brown. Don't worry if it's not as crisp as you would like it coming out of the oven - it becomes crisper as it cools.

While the pastry is cooling, you can make your filling. Place the cream and sugar in a saucepan on the stove, and stir until it comes to the boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add chopped chocolate, stir until completely melted. Leave to stand for 5 minutes, then add butter and extra cream, and still until all smooth and incorporated.

Once pastry case and filling are both room temperature, pour filling into case and refrigerate  -  it will take about 2-3 hours to set in the fridge.

Helpful hint: if cracks appear in your pastry once you've taken it out of the oven, melt a little plain chocolate, and fill in the cracks, and allow to set a little before you pour in your filling. If there are cracks when you pour in the filling, it will seep through. Not great.