This week's recipe will make a showstopping finale to any dinner party, tasting as good as it looks.
Its crisp base comes from the simple recipe for sweet pastry, which needs to rest after you've rolled it out and also after you've shaped it into the pastry ring. Rushing the tart at this stage will usually result in the pastry shrinking on the pastry ring. Select a good-quality dark chocolate for the filling - one that's around 60% cocoa is ideal.
You'll need an ice-cream maker - try to serve the ice-cream as soon after churning as possible - and six tartlet moulds 8cm in diameter with a depth of 2cm.
Dark chocolate tart with mint ice-cream
Serves 6
Pastry
100g unsalted butter, cold and diced
300g plain flour
90g icing sugar
A pinch of salt
2 small eggs
Set the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Place the butter in a bowl with the flour and rub them together with your fingertips until the mix has the consistency of breadcrumbs, then sift the icing sugar and salt into the bowl and stir until evenly mixed. Beat the eggs and stir them into the flour mix.
Knead the mix gently until it comes together into a ball, then wrap it in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least two hours - preferably overnight.
Roll the dough out to about 3mm thickness on a floured surface then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Brush the inside of the tartlet moulds with a little melted butter then lightly dust them with flour.
Using a 10cm stainless-steel ring, cut out six pastry discs and place one in the base of each mould. Add baking beans to the moulds and cook them in the oven for 20 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through. Remove the beans and cool the tartlet cases on a wire rack.
Chocolate filling
100ml milk
270ml double cream
300g dark chocolate, minimum 60% cocoa and broken into pieces
2 eggs
Set the oven to 150C/gas mark 2.
Put the milk and cream in a pan and bring them to the boil, then gradually add the chocolate and whisk the mix until the chocolate dissolves completely. Beat the eggs into the mix, whisking vigorously, then pour it into the moulds. Place the moulds in the oven for around 8 minutes - when cooked the mix should set like a custard and have a smooth, shiny surface. Remove the tarts from the oven and leave to cool.
Fresh mint ice-cream
500ml milk
250ml double cream
60g fresh mint leaves
125g caster sugar
6 egg yolks
Add the milk, cream, mint and 50g of the sugar to a large pan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and remaining sugar in a large bowl. When the milk and cream mixture has boiled add it to the egg yolks and whisk well before returning the mixture to the pan. Place the pan over a low heat and stir the mixture continuously until it starts to thicken, removing it just before it reaches a simmer. Place the mixture into a liquidiser and blend until smooth and uniformly green then pass the mix through a fine mesh sieve. Transfer to an ice-cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Serve the tarts at room temperature with a scoop of mint ice-cream.
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