Dark Chocolate Tart with Sea Salt

A long, long, long time ago when I first started this blog I posted a recipe for a dark chocolate tart and at the time I was really happy with the pics which I merrily posted on social media thinking they were bloody awesome. Now I look back at those pics which still appear endlessly on Pinterest and want to stick pins in my eyes (OK - not quite) but oh my God I had no idea what I was doing, and I now think they are soooo average!!!). I am still learning every single day, every shoot, every recipe, every edit - and I still have a long way to go - but just for the moment, I do quite like the update on what has turned out to be an extraordinarily popular recipe. (No doubt in another six months I will be cringing and ready to shoot it again!) The original had a topping of blackberries and praline, but I have to say I am completely addicted to the combination of super-dark chocolate with sea salt which somehow deepens the flavour and makes it really special. You might think this looks tricky, but I promise you it is so easy to make - seriously simple. Thanks again to Fairfax for giving me the freedom to write recipes like this and share them with you :)

1 cup plain flour 3 tablespoons Dutch or dark cocoa powder ¼ cup icing sugar 120g chilled butter, chopped into cubes 1-2 tablespoons iced water Light cooking oil spray 400g dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks 400ml cream 50ml whiskey sea salt for sprinkling
Put flour, cocoa, sugar and butter in a food processor and whiz to form ‘breadcrumbs’. Add water and pulse until mixture starts to form clumps. Tip out onto a bench top and squash together then pat into a round. Refrigerate for 15 minutes then roll out between two sheets of baking paper into a circle a few centimetres larger than your tin. Spray a 26cm tart tin with light cooking oil and gently remove top layer of baking paper and invert pastry into it. Press in and trim edges. Refrigerate for 15 minutes while the oven preheats to 180˚C (375˚F). Line the pastry with baking paper and baking beans, rice or weights and cook 12 minutes. Remove weights and paper and cook a further 10-12 minutes until lightly crisp. Cool in the tin. Heat cream in a pot until simmering (not boiling), remove from heat and add chocolate. Sit for a few minutes then whisk until smooth. If necessary return to a very gentle heat for a minute to complete the melting. Stir in whiskey and leave to cool for 15 minutes before pouring into pastry shell. I like to let my tart cool at room temperature over night, but it can be made on the same day and refrigerated, but do remove it from the fridge half an hour before serving. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve as is or with some softly whipped cream – super rich but addictive! Serves 8-10