Recipe 52/11 - Salted Chocolate Tart

I thought I was one of those people who thinks savoury and sweet should never ever be mixed together (I still won't have Sweet and Sour chicken based on this principle!) Salt and chocolate - why oh why would you ever do that? I thought this until I was in Barcelona and I tried a Salted Caramel Chocolate pudding one night (at Lonja de Tapas - I became slightly obsessed with this Tapas restaurant) and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. Look I even have a photo of it - it was that good!

So when I stumbled across this recipe for Salted Chocolate Tart I was very happy (tart isn't quite the gooey pudding in the photo I know). The recipe even tells you to buy a ready made pastry case - not going to say no to that! It is super easy and quick to make, creates a tiny amount of washing up, you can make it in advance for something (it needs at least 4 hours in the fridge to set anyway) and it doesn't require any extravagant ingredients you will only use once. It was perfect for the week I had (I made it before I was trading at a four day Christmas Market and the thought of getting home for a slice definitely kept me going through the 10 hour days). But the best thing is for something that requires a small amount of work it was still one of the best things I have ever made! You can spend hours following some complicated baking recipe, spend another hour clearing up and the end result is quite good but probably better if you had just bought it - this seriously chocolatey tart tasted much better than some of those kind of recipes ever did.

You will need:

170ml double cream
2 tbsp whole milk (I just used normal semi-skimmed)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50g caster sugar
150g dark chocolate with sea salt (Lindt does one but I just used dark chocolate with a pinch of salt)
35g unsalted butter (cubed)
205g sweet pastry case
pinch sea salt to scatter (just try it!)

1. Warm the cream, milk, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Bring to a simmer, take off the heat.
3. Stir in the chocolate and butter until melted.
4. Leave for 2 minutes.
5. Pour into the case.
6. Set in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
7. Scatter with sea salt just before serving with some creme fraiche on the side if liked.

It also says to try spreading the base with caramel before pouring over the chocolate (definitely trying this next time!)