How to make a summery spiced chocolate ganache tart with fresh berries
Rich chocolate with a hint of alcohol and chilli heat topped with fresh berries – a decidedly adult dessert
This pretty tart looks light and summery but underneath all the fruit is a rich chocolate ganache that has a hint of spice and a small dose of alcohol. I used a 22cm square tart pan, but if you don’t have one, use a pan with a similar base area.
Spiced chocolate ganache tart with berries
A ganache is like any other emulsion – you have to slowly combine the fat (in this case, chocolate and butter) and the liquid (the cream), so the fat stays stable. If you mix them too quickly, the fat will separate out and rise to the top; it doesn’t affect the taste, but it’s not as pretty. I use an immersion blender (sometimes called a hand blender); it works better than a regular whisk.
It’s hard to judge the amount of chilli to add to the ganache because the heat level varies, even within the same variety of chilli. I would start with just one chilli and mix in more later, if you like; it’s easy enough to add more, but extremely difficult to take away.
For the tart dough:
205 grams plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for rolling
25 grams unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
95 grams icing sugar
¼ tsp fine sea salt
125 grams unsalted butter, chilled
1 large egg, chilled
For the filling:
1 red bird’s-eye chilli, about 3cm long, or more to taste
310ml cream
345 grams bittersweet chocolate, with a cacao content of about 70 per cent
25 grams unsalted butter, slightly softened
15ml brandy or cognac
1-2 baskets of strawberries, preferably smaller ones
1-2 basket raspberries
Fresh mint leaves
Make the tart dough. Put the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and mix thoroughly. Cut the chilled butter into 1cm chunks and add them to the processor. Pulse briefly until the butter is about the size of peas. Transfer the ingredients to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the egg and drizzle it over the ingredients. Mix the ingredients by hand to form a cohesive dough. Knead the dough briefly then wrap with cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour.