Chocolate Almond Tart

I was making for Susan and Alan. I wanted to add some chocolate to the Candied Almond Tart recipe I made last month for a dessert, so came up with this. We all thought this was delicious!

 

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 170 grams (1.25 cups) alll purpose flour
• 40 grams (1/3 cup) powdered sugar
• 21 grams (1/4 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 128 grams (9 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/4" dices
  
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten

Chocolate Layer:

• 2 tablespoons (11g) unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
• 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons (43g) heavy cream (I used milk)
• 1/4 cup (43g) semisweet chocolate chips
  

Almond Filling:

• 113 grams (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 134 grans (2/3 cup) sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 200 grams (2 cups) sliced almonds
  

Instructions:

1. Make the tart crust: Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa and salt together in a food processor.
2.  Spread the butter dices on top, whir in butter in some long pulses until it becomes coarse and crumbly.
   
3. Add the whisked yolk, then whir into flour mix until the clumps form. (I added 1 tablespoon of water.)
4. Turn out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper, knead together to make a ball, then press into a disk.
   
5. Roll the dough evenly between two sheets of parchment paper into a 10.5" to 11" inch circle.
6. Let the circle chill for 10 minutes in the freezer while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
   
7. Spray a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray.
   
8. Fit the crust into thetart pan, evening the top edges. Prick the bottom. (You can refrigerate overnight.)
   
9. Place parchment paper in the crust, and fill with small beans. 
10. Bake the crust for 20 minutes, carefully remove the beans and parchment paper, and bake for another 5 minutes.
    
11.  Let crust cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes or so to room temperature.
    
    
12. Make the chocolate layer: Mix the cocoa, sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl then add in chocolate chips.
    
13. Heat for 30 seconds in microwave, stirring, and repeat step 11 until the chips have melted and are completely stirred in.
14.  Let cool for  few minutes, then spread on the bottom of the cooled tart crust.
    
    
15. Make the filling: Preheat oven to 400.
16. Cook butter and sugar in a heavy sauce pan at medium-low heat until butter is melted and sugar is mixed in,
    
17. Increase heat to medium, and boil until mixture is amber color.
18. Stir in salt and cinnamon, 
19. Remove from heat - add in milk and stand back while it sputters.
20. Return pan to heat, stirring until the caramel is smooth again,
21. Add in almonds, stirring constantly for another 2 to 3 minutes to coat all almonds with caramel.
22. Pour the almonds into the prepared tart, pressing almonds to edges and evening the top.
23. Bake tart for about 15 minutes until the caramel is bubbling and the top is a deep golden brown.
24. Transfer tart to a baking rack and let cool. (If you have any remaining chocolate filling on the sides of its bowl, drop in small pieces on top of the tart.)
    
25. After cooling, remove side of tart pan. 
26. Cut using a sharp knife straight from the center to edge using one vertical motion.
27. Cut in thin slices - this will make 12 slices because it is so rich. (You may need to eat seconds.)
    

  

Carole's Notes:

We really liked this! The caramelized buttery cinnamon nuts have a bit of a baklava flavor to them.

The chocolate crust and the almond filling are two separate recipes from Baking with Dorie, the chocolate layer is from my Chocolate Swirl Coffee Cake Rolls