Chocolate first arrived in France in 1615 as a gift to the 14-year-old King Louis XIII from his 14-year-old fiancée, Anne of Austria. It was a gift of such value that it was placed in a chest! The popularity of chocolate drinks began to spread throughout Versailles, and it was Louis XV who absolutely loved the drink. This bond between the French and chocolate is deeply ingrained in their culinary and cultural traditions; it’s also about excellence. France has the highest number of the finest ‘bean-to-bar’ chocolate makers in the world. Here is my favourite recipe for a Chocolate tart or six individual tartlets. Check Alex’s recipe online in the Cambridge Independent.
Valentine’s Day and chocolate, the two go hand in hand and a perfect reason to enjoy chocolate today.
My intense love for chocolate goes back to my childhood growing up in a French family as my father spent some time in Paris and then London perfecting his skills as a chocolatier creating the most sublime chocolates that we were privileged to have the opportunity to eat. As my obsession continues though, it has to be curtailed somewhat and my fiancé hides it away!
Bon Appetit!
Alex Crepy
Ingredients for 6 individual chocolate tartlets
135g caster sugar
115g butter, softened
35g flour
Zest of ½ orange, grated
135g good-quality dark chocolate, melted
3 tbsp Grand Marnier
3 small eggs
100g roasted hazelnuts, roughly crushed
Pastry:
125g plain flour
3g salt
60g butter, diced
1 small egg, beaten
1 tbsp water
Method:
Make the pastry: sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Rub in the butter with your fingertips to obtain small flakes or until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the egg and water. Mix well with your fingers until the dough forms a ball and leaves your hands clean. Wrap it in cling film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food mixer, beat the sugar and butter until white and creamy. Add the flour, a little at a time, and then mix in the orange zest, melted chocolate and Grand Marnier.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs up to the stage at which, when you lift the whisk, there is a continuous ‘ribbon’ and add them, in 2 or 3 batches, to the chocolate mixture and fold them in. Finally, add the crushed hazelnuts.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thickness and use to line six small 8cm tart tins. Cover the dough with waxed paper or baking parchment and fill with pie weights or baking beans right up to the top.
Bake ‘blind’ in a preheated oven at 150°C, gas mark 2 for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Carefully remove the pie weights and waxed paper and then pop the tartlets back in the oven for 5–6 minutes to finish cooking evenly and colour. Let it cool down before using. Turn up the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4.
Fill the precooked tartlets with the chocolate mixture and cook for 5 minutes in the oven. Remove each tartlet from the tin and serve on a plate with a little whipped cream.