A few years ago I started adding whiskey to my whipped cream. It started out innocently enough, just a little irish cream flavored whip with my pumpkin pie. But there was a little bit left over, so I added a dollop to my chai tea. Then another dollop, then another, until the whiskey whipped cream basically just waved at the chai tea on its way to my mouth. Inspired by this delicious (albeit dangerous) “discovery” I started adding whiskey to pretty much everything–my favorite cookie recipe, chocolate ice cream, apple pie, and most recently, this tart. I can’t decide if it’s chocolate that goes so well with the whiskey or the whisky that goes with the chocolate, but these two were clearly made for each other. This chocolate whiskey tart boasts a flakey chocolatey crust, rich creamy ganache filling, just a hint of sea salt, mmmm. And, this recipe is perfect for entertaining because it doesn’t take long to make and you can even make the shell a day ahead of time.
A few notes–tart shells are notorious for shrinking. To mitigate this, there are several things you can do. First of all, use cold butter. Secondly, don’t stretch the dough. Finally, don’t skip the part about freezing the shell (yeah, I see you cutting those corners). In fact, if you have time, you can freeze the shell even longer.
Also, this tart is simple. There’s not a lot of room to cover up the taste of bad tasting ingredients. So, choose wisely. Use good, dark baking chocolate and high quality whisky. I like to use a strong peaty whisky, but you could also go with a milder one.
- Crust
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup butter (chilled)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 tablespoon ice water
- Filling
- 7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon strong peaty whisky (I used an Ardbeg Islay Single Malt)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (plus some for the top)
- Combine flour, salt, sugar, and cocoa powder in a medium sized bowl.
- Using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut butter into the flour mixture.
- Once the mixture resembles course sand, add the egg yolk and stir until evenly incorporated.
- Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough just comes together.
- Flatten the dough into a rectangle roughly the size of the bottom of the tart pan. Wrap in plastic and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle, a little less than 1/4 inch thick. The rectangle should be a little longer and almost twice as wide as your tart pan.
- Gently place the dough over the pan. The goal is to line the bottom and both sides of the pan without stretching the dough (stretched dough has a way of shrinking even more than usual).
- Carefully press the dough into the corners of the pan, allowing about a 1/2 inch overhang on each side.
- Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prick the bottom of the pan several times with the tines of a fork.
- Line the dough with parchment paper and fill with dried beans (or pie weights if you’re really fancy).
- Bake for 30 minutes, remove beans and parchment paper, and run a rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off any excess dough.
- Return to oven for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the tart shell appears dry.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.
- In a small sauce pan, heat cream, maple syrup, and salt until it just comes to a boil.
- Pour cream mixture over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Add whisky.
- Pour chocolate into tart shell and refrigerate for at least two hours.
- Top with a pinch of sea salt just before serving.
My goodness does this look amazing! I love boozy chocolate desserts, but hadn’t considered adding it to whipped cream. Now look what you’ve started… 😉
Right? It’s a slippery slope!
What dimensions for the tart pan?
My tart pan is 13 3/4″ x 4 1/4″ x 1″ high.