Earl Grey & Dark Chocolate Tart
I have never considered myself a tea fanatic. The only tea I grew up drinking was Chai and the occasional Sleepy Time tea. However, that changed on my last trip to Vegas. I made it my mission to visit Dominique Ansel’s patissiere in Caesars Palace. While it is not the original location it still has the crowd pleasing DKAs (Dominique's Kouign Amann), Cronuts and so much more. I wolfed down the warmed DKA in three bites. Now the cronut I managed to wait the 2 hour drive back home. Once, I had my pajamas on and none of my luggage unpacked I opened the triangular box holding my cronut. It was dense; filled to the brim with earl grey white chocolate ganache and lemon curd. It was heavenly. Well balanced. Bright, Earthy. Everything I could want in my first cronut. I was also just simply fascinated by the use of earl grey in a dessert. It interested me so much I sit here a year later sharing my take on an Earl Grey dessert.
This Earl Grey & Dark Chocolate tart is the brain child of many failed desserts. I had to play with the flavor profile of this tea in many forms before I found it’s perfect match. However, that perfect match came from a moment of panic. My grand idea of earl grey pastry cream dotted with blueberry compote and lemon curd did not come together in the way I had hoped. Each flavor was fighting for the spotlight. So in a moment of “oh shit…what can I do with this tart without having to leave my house??” one of my many baking chocolate bars saved the day.
This tart is an indulgent treat with three distinct layers of flavor. A crispy, flaky brown butter shortbread crust blends together a smooth chocolate ganache and lightly sweetened pastry cream infused with flavors of bergamot and subtle citrus. It will be an impressive addition to any table and your friends/family may question if you have secretly been attending pastry school. Now, I am not going to lie to you this recipe does take some work and a whole lot of patience. To make it a bit easier you can split it up over two days. Make your crust one day and the pastry cream the next or vice versa. However, it is worth all the time in world when your end result is something this impressive. So go on and try it!
Earl Grey & Chocolate Tart
This decadent tart combines the earthy flavors of earl grey pastry cream with a smooth and rich, dark chocolate ganache. Both sit atop a smooth and crispy brown butter shortbread crust.
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2/3 cup softened butter, unsalted
- 1/3 cup softened browned butter
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 3-4 Earl Grey Tea Bags
- 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1/4 cup of cornstarch
- 1 tbsp butter, unsalted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 4 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bar
- 6 oz. Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Combine softened butter. salt and vanilla extract in a medium sized bowl.
- Beat until smooth with a hand mixer.
- Add in powdered sugar and continue mixing
- Add flour in increments and mix well between each addition.
- Place dough on plastic wrap, form into a disk and cover.
- Let rest in freezer for 30 minutes or 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Take dough out and let warm up until pliable.
- Roll dough until 1/8" thick and 16-18 inches in diameter.*
- Carefully press dough into 9 inch tart pan. Cut excess dough hanging over edge of pan.**
- Press dough with fingertips to ensure bottom, walls and edges are even thickness.
- Let rest in freezer for 30 minutes or 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Heat oven to 375 F and pierce bottom dough with fork evenly.
- Place a piece of parchment paper into the center that is wide enough to fill with pie weights or dry beans.
- Place on baking tray into the center oven and bake for 22-24 mins*
- Remove parchment paper with pie weights/beans and continue baking crust for 10 minutes.
- Let cool completely on wire rack.
- Warm 2 cups of whole milk over medium low heat until steaming, but not boiling.
- Steep tea bags for 10-15 minutes.
- While tea is steeping combine egg yolks and sugar until smooth.
- Add in cornstarch and whisk until pale and smooth.
- If using vanilla add to the hot milk.
- Slowly stream 1/2 cup of milk into egg mixture and whisk vigorously.
- Continue to steadily add milk until fully incorporated.
- Add custard back into saucepan and cook over medium low heat until thickened about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in butter.
- Press custard through sieve to ensure there are no lumps.
- Cover top of custard with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.
- Chop chocolate and place into heat proof bowl/container
- Heat cream on the stove over medium low or in 30 second increments in the microwave until steaming.
- Pour hot cream over chocolate and let set for 3 minutes.
- Whisk chocolate and cream until smooth and fully combined.
- Let cool slightly for 10-15 minutes.
- Pipe pastry cream into tart shell and leave 1/2 inch of room at top of tart crust.
- Chill for 30 minutes; make ganache in the meanwhile.
- Pour warm ganache in the middle of the pastry cream. Rotate the pan to evenly cover the pastry cream.*
- Let tart sit so chocolate can come to room temperature.*
- Chill for up to 24 hours.
Notes
*You can press the dough directly into the pan without rolling it out, but the crust may be uneven. Rolling takes more effort (and maybe a few tears), but it’s definitely worth it for a more consistent result.
*Use any excess dough to reinforce the sides of the tart or to even out the thickness and height of the crust.
*When baking the crust for the first time, it’s ready to bake without weights and parchment if the paper can be lifted cleanly without any dough sticking to it.
*Be sure to let the chocolate ganache cool completely before chilling the tart. If chilled too quickly, the ganache may crack.
*For a glossier ganache finish, stir in a tablespoon of butter.