Bailey’s Chocolate Tart may look intimidating, but once you are done with the tart base, there is nothing much to it. I love to make the tart shell from scratch, it is so easy! But if you are hard pressed for time, the readymade crust will just work as well. In fact, then you hardly have much to do. The filling consists of a mix of dark, semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream. To take it up a notch, I’ve spiked up the chocolate filling with some Bailey’s Irish Cream. So basically we have Bailey’s ganache. You may skip the Bailey’s and enjoy it as a plain chocolate tart. The flaky, buttery crust filled with scrumptious and delectable smooth chocolate filling is simply divine! You can also make mini tarts instead of one big tart.
This is a very decadent dessert, not overly sweet, and a hint of the Irish cream is like additional goodness to the already luxurious chocolate tart. So without further ado, let’s get started.
INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE BAILEY’S CHOCOLATE TART
FOR THE TART SHELL
1.Add the flour, sugar, and salt, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade, pulse it a couple of times to mix well. Add cold diced butter and pulse it 8-10 times or until the fat breaks down into pea-sized pieces. If you don’t have a food processor, use a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and whisk well, add cubes of chilled butter, incorporate the butter into the flour with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. 2.With the food processor running, stream in the cold water through the feed tube until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. The dough should not form a ball, so stop pulsing when you see the dough beginning to form a ball. Do not over process the dough, some crumbs are fine. I used about 3 tablespoons of ice cold water, you may need more or less depending on the weather conditions, humidity etc. 3.Turn the dough onto a cling film, flatten it into a disc, wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour. 4.Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface from the center to the edge into a 10-inch circle and about 1/4th inch thick. 5.Place the rolled dough in a 7-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, press the dough firmly and carefully at the bottom and the sides of the pan, trim off excess dough from the rim of the pan. Refrigerate it again for 30 minutes. 6.Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Gently pierce the bottom and the sides of the crust with a fork all over (Doing this prevents large bubbles from forming and ensures that the crust stays smooth). 7.Bake the tart shell for about 10 -15 minutes or until it is golden brown and let it cool in the tart pan on a wire rack.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE FILLING
1.Add chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks in a heatproof bowl. 2.In a saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer on medium-high. 3.Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it stand for a minute for the chocolate to melt. 4.Whisk the chocolate cream mixture gently until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. 5.Add Bailey’s Irish crème and give it a final whisk. 6.Pour the chocolate mixture in the prepared tart shell and garnish with slivered almonds and strawberries (or whatever you prefer). 7.Refrigerate it until the chocolate is firm (at least 1 hour to overnight for best results), Serve at room temperature.
NOTES 1.If you are using unsalted butter, whisk in a ¼ teaspoon of salt in the flour. 2.If you are not using a fork, use only your fingertips to work with the dough, to avoid the warmth of your hands from softening the butter. Remember the key to a flaky and buttery crust is that all the ingredients must be cold. 3.I’ve used 75:25 :: semi-sweet chocolate: dark chocolate, you may use any type of chocolate you desire.
HOW TO MAKE BAILEY’S CHOCOLATE TART?
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