Chocolate Tarte

I like my chocolate tarts like I like my men: sophisticated, rich, deep and dark.

The next time you need a dessert for a grown-up party, reach for David Leibowitz's super-easy yet drop-dead gorgeous Chocolate Tart. It's not for children. It's rich, but not overpoweringly so. I've made it three times now. It's very easy, and not very fiddly at all. The scariest part is making the caramel, and even that gets easy once you do it a few times. And once you make the easiest French pastry crust ever, you will wonder how you lived your life without it.

Chocolate Tart

by David Leibowitz

6082311

Ingredients (serves 10)

• 1 1/4 cup (250g) sugar
• 6 tablespoons (90ml) coffee
• 4 ounces (115g) unsalted butter, cubed
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 ounces (55g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup (35g) flour
• 1 tablespoon dark rum or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• One 9- or 10-inch prebaked tart shell

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF .

2. Make the caramel: Spread the sugar the bottom of a heavy skillet or Dutch oven. Cook over moderate flame until the edges liquefy and begin to caramelize. Drag the liquefied sugar toward the center of the pan, so that it all melts evenly.

3. Once the sugar is melted, when it starts to smoke turn off the heat and stir in the coffee. (Be careful, it will spatter!)

4. If the caramel has seized up, return to low heat & stir until smooth.

5. Add the butter and salt, and stir until melted.

6. Add both chocolates & stir until smooth.

7. Let cool a bit, then mix in the eggs, then the flour. Stir in the rum or vanilla extract.

8. Pour into the pre-baked tart shell, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not overbake.

9. Remove from oven and let cool before slicing.

You could serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whip cream, but honestly, it's better on its own.

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