Chocolate Tart

This Chocolate Tart has a silky smooth and rich chocolate custard filling dusted with cocoa powder in a flaky crust. Directions for the home crust are included but you can also use a store-bought crust as well as add any topping you’d like such as raspberries or other fruit.

Why This Recipe Works

This is one of those recipes that is absolutely perfect for entertaining whether you’re having a small dinner party or want to add something different to your Thanksgiving dessert table.

It’s delicious, but not too rich and it’s also light in texture for those times when you want a sweet dessert that’s not too much. Each slice is a thin piece of the pie.

This recipe is simple and made with a homemade crust, which at first can seem daunting, but with step-by-step instructions is really very easy. It’s also versatile and can be made with a store-bought crust as well.

You can use any size tart pan you like. Make this using a deep-dish tart pan for bigger slices or ultra-thin using a larger width tart pan.

Ingredients Needed

Ingredient Notes

You don’t have to make the crust for this tart from scratch and you also don’t have to use the standard flaky pie crust, you can also use a Graham Cracker Crust too. If you plan on using a store-bought crust you can eliminate the pie crust ingredients listed in the recipe card.

• Chocolate: for this recipe you will need chopped up semi-sweet chocolate. You can find this chocolate on the baking isle.
• Heavy Cream and Milk: there is a combination of cream in this recipe and I recommend using full fat whole milk and cream. I have not tried this recipe using dairy-free alternatives, but if you wanted to test it out I recommend using coconut cream in place of the heavy cream.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Prepare the Pie Crust

• Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together until well combined.
• Cut in the butter. Add the cold butter to the bowl and use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal.

• Mix the egg yolk and water. Whisk the egg yolk with the ice water in a small bowl and pour into the center of the large bowl with the pastry mixture in it.
• Shape the dough. Use a wooden spoon and or your hand to work it into a dough that holds together. Shape the dough into a flat disc and wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

To test if the pie crust is ready, squeeze some of it together, and if it’s crumbly add more water 1 tablespoon at a time.

• Roll out the dough. Flour your surface and roll out the pie dough to a 12-inch sized disk that’s about ¼ inch in thickness. Place the dough in a 9-inch tart pan and press it into the pan. Cutaway any excess.
• Bake: Set the tart pan on a baking sheet and carefully line the pie crust with aluminum foil and place pie weights, dried beans, or rice on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350ºF.
• Brush on the egg wash. Remove the aluminum foil and weights and lightly brush the top of the crust with the beaten egg white. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 8 minutes.

Make the Chocolate Filling

• Heat the milk and cream. In a large pot combine the heavy cream and milk and heat at medium-low until it begins to simmer. Remove from the heat.
• Add the chopped chocolate. Add the chocolate to the pot and stir until it’s melted and combined with the milk mixture.
• Mix the sugar and salt into the pot until incorporated and then mix in the beaten eggs until smooth.

• Bake. Pour the filling into the tart shell (making sure not to pour it over the edges of the crust) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 325ºF, until the surface becomes glossy.

Helpful Equipment

• Pastry Cutter
• Pie Weights
• 9-Inch Tart Pan
• Baking Sheet

Storage Information

• Leftovers: Place any leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge. I don’t recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap or foil because it will smash the top. Leftovers will last for up to 1 week in the fridge.
• Freezer Instructions. Whether you plan on freezing the entire tart or slices I recommend flash freezing it first. Place the tart or tart slices on a baking sheet and directly put it into the freezer to freezer for 30 to 45 minutes (you want the chocolate filling to be hard and solid). Remove it an wrap it carefully in plastic wrap or place it in an air-tight container.

Recipe Notes and Tips:

• You’ll need 30 minutes of chill time for the crust to set before rolling it out and placing it in the tart pan.
• Don’t overfill the pie crust. During the par-baking process the pie shell make shrink and come away from the tart pan edge. When adding the chocolate filling don’t fill it over the edge of the pie crust because it will seep underneath the crust.
• For pie weights I recommend using dried beans or dried rice. This pie crust requires you to par-bake it and to keep the crust from shrinking too much you’ll need to line it with parchment and fill it with pie weights. Unless you have 2 sets of pie weights the dried beans and rice will fill the parchment better and be heavier than pie weights, which stops the shrinkage.
• What to do if your pie crust shrinks too much? Don’t worry, you can still use it. Carefully fill the crust, making sure not to overfill it as stated above. If you have some filling left, that’s okay. The main thing is to not overfill the crust.
• To make a design on the top of your pie using the cocoa powder you can use a pie stencil or you can use fake leaves, which is what I did.

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If you made this Chocolate Tart I want to hear all about it! Share a photo and tag me on Instagram using @AimeeMarsLiving and #AimeeMars so I can see your beautiful work. Enjoy!