Chocolate Ganache Tart with Strawberries
Okay, you really should stop whatever you are working on and make this beautiful chocolate ganache tart with fresh strawberries. The combination of dark chocolate plus strawberries are the stuff dreams are made of, especially mine.
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- food processor, tart pan ( preferably with a removable base), rolling pin, pie weights or beans.
Ingredients
- 4-6 cups strawberries washed, stems cut off, and cut in half
Chocolate tart crust (pate sucree)
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar granulated can also be used, but I prefer powdered for a flakier crust
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder I love Hershey's special dark for this.
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, chilled and cut in ½ inch chunks Don't be concerned about the size being perfect.
- 1 egg, beaten
Chocolate ganache filling
- 16 ounces dark chocolate, cut into small pieces you can also use semi-sweet or milk chocolate if you like.
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Simple Syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Chocolate drizzle
- ½ cup chopped chocolate I used dark chocolate for mine, but again, you can use semi-sweet or milk if you prefer.
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
Chocolate Tart Crust - Pate Sucree
- Add dry ingredients to a food processor. Pulse several times to mix.
- Place cubed butter into the food processor next. Pulse this 2-3 times. Next, add the egg and pulse to combine.
- Remove the dough and knead gently a few times to make sure it all comes together. When it has, wrap it and place it in the fridge. It will need to chill for at least 2 hours.
- When you are ready, remove it from the fridge. Sprinkle the countertop with flour. Roll the dough into a circle that is about 12-inches round.
- Place in the tart pan and press gently. Press the top edges to smooth out the top.
- Place in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill. While it is chilling, preheat the oven to 385 degrees.
- Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans.
- Bake the shell for about 10 minutes. Then carefully remove the beans and paper. Bake for another 5 minutes. It is thin and will cook quicly.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool. When it is cooled, start the ganache.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place your chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat cream in a pan on the cooktop or in the microwave. Pour it over the chocolate and allow it to sit for about 30 seconds. Whisk slowly until it is smooth and incorporated. If you need to heat it a little to get it completely melted, you can do that too. Add in vanilla last.
- Pour into the prepared pan and move it to the fridge. Let this cool until it is set.
Add Strawberries
- Top with the strawberries. If you are brushing with the simple syrup, follow the next steps.
- Heat the water and sugar on the cooktop until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool before brushing it over the strawberries. This is optional but adds a really pretty shine.
- Heat the chocolate and coconut oil in a small microwave-safe bowl until it is melted. I do this in 15-second intervals in the microwave.
- Drizzle over the strawberries.
- When all this is done, you are ready to serve!
Notes
- Everything needs to be chilled when making pate sucree until the dough hits the oven. When you are making the dough, have everything lined out and ready before you even start. Cut your butter into chunks, but keep them in the fridge until you are ready to use them. Last work quickly and return the dough to the fridge to rest.
- After you have rolled the dough and placed it in a pan, it is much easier to press it to the pan to break off the edges than it is to cut it off. The dough breaks off easily.
- This tart shell is blind-baked, meaning it is baked with no filling in it. You do this to reduce the shrinkage of your dough in the pan. This is especially important with an all-butter crust.
- If you are not familiar with ganache, it is a simple mix of chocolate and heavy cream. Not exactly low cal, but really yummy and totally simple to make. I used dark chocolate which was about 76%.
- Not into dark chocolate? No problem, you can also use semi-sweet or even milk chocolate in this recipe.