Not just another tart

I didn't realize until the start of this post that I have been putting up tart recipes for the last few entries. Weird, lol. This will be another one, but before you dismiss it, hear me out. This is one recipe you do not want to miss. Plus, it isn't entirely a tart. You'll see what I mean.


One of the benefits of living in the Marais is easy access to great food. For french fare, there is Le dome du Marais or the modern-furnished Glou. For steaks, Robert & Louise serves them well-seasoned (with sea salt!) cooked over a flaming grill. If you're looking for more exotic flavors, Nanashi has an interesting reinvented gyudon (traditionally cooked beef over rice; Nanashi transformed it into a salad with lots of Arugula leaves and a light refreshing Japanese dressing) and L'as du Falafel has the best falafels worth queuing up to 20 minutes for. For something on the lighter side, there are several Jewish bakeries selling bagels, a few boulangeries with the standard baguette sandwiches, Candelaria for tacos or Tartes Kluger. True to its name, this cafe serves only tarts, both salty and sweet.


The tart which left an impression on me was their Chocolate Tart. It was the first time I had a moist brownie-like cake inside a tart shell. Although the chocolate was a tad bit too sweet I found the concept fascinating. What started as meaning to just have one bite ended up being the whole slice.  

Thus began my search for the chocolate filing to recreate the dessert at home. I wanted to keep the moist consistency but lessen the sweetness. The filling is definitely softer than an american style brownie and I'm pretty sure doesn't contain condensed milk like one recipe suggested. Being french-style, it's most likely a fondant cake and my favorite baker has one online recipe on it.


Her recipes in the past hadn't failed me. Neither did this one. It was beyond what I expected and if I may say, I preferred this filing to the original's. Not too sweet, very moist, kind of crumbly and really chocolatey. The recipe stands on its own without the tart base, so like I mentioned in the beginning, it's actually a brownie recipe. The best I've found thus far.


Strangely enough, I couldn't find the paddle attachment of my electric beater this morning. The recipe calls for the eggs and sugar to be beaten for 2 minutes with the electric beater. But seeing how they make genoise in the pastry kitchen of my internship got me thinking of an idea. The recipe below has been modified to be entirely hand-made :D


French Brownie Tart
adapted from here
makes a 20cm tart


Ingredients
220g sweet shortcrust pastry (pate sucree)
85g bittersweet chocolate (70% Lindt)
50g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
35g salted butter (or 85g unsalted butter and a pinch of salt)
2 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
a pinch of cinnamon
chocolate chips, for garnish (optional)


Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Line a tart ring/mold and blind-bake the shell for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown
3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a bowl over a bain mairie (a saucepan of simmering water).
4. Take off the bowl, add the butter into the chocolate and mix until the butter is fully melted. If there are pieces that are not melting, put it over the water again. Ensure that the mixture doesn't get too hot. Set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, crack the two eggs and whisk until the yolks and whites are mixed well (important to ensure the sugar is incorporated properly in the next step).
6. Add half of the sugar and whisk immediately.
7. Set the bowl over a bain mairie, whisking all the while, until the egg mixture is hot to the touch (when the eggs are tempered).
8. Once the eggs are tempered, take the bowl out of the bain mairie, add the rest of the sugar and continue whisking until the mixture is thick and pale (almost white).
9. Pour in the melted chocolate-butter mixture and mix only until it is incorporated.
10. Fold in the flour and cinnamon powder.
11. Scrape the batter into the tart shell, top with the chocolate chips if using, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted to the center comes out clean.
12. Leave the tart to cool in the mold/ring for several minutes before unmolding and transferring it to a rack to cool to room temperature.
13. Slice and serve :)