Chilli Chocolate Tart

Cinnamon pastry case, filled with a rich, dark chocolate filling, flavoured with fiery ancho chilli, warming cloves and cinnamon 

I love chilli chocolate, but I have never attempted to make it, because I’ve heard too many horror stories about friends attempts that have gone disastrously wrong!
However, I came across a Tomisina Miers recipe for chilli chocolate truffles, and I have loved all of the recipes I have tried from her so far. Equipt with her recipe, I decided to be brave and trust her chocolate/chilli ratio!

I didn’t really fancy just making truffles, so I amalgamated the chilli chocolate truffle recipe with a Jamie Oliver recipe, for a salted chocolate tart.

And I must say I am SO pleased I tried this out because the tart was delicious! It was really rich and chcoclatey, but the added spices made it super exciting and exotic! I took this round to a friends for an afternoon treat and everyone really enjoyed it – although one person did stumble across a chilli seed at one point which looked rather painful, so make sure you grind the chilli up really really well! – If you need a dessert for a weekend dinner, then this would be a great recipe to try!

The tart can be served just on its own, as it so rich and flavourful, but I’m sure a dollop of double cream wouldn’t hurt!

Variations: If you aren’t a chilli lover, you could use half the amount of chilli for a more subtle flavour, or you could leave it out all together and just use sea salt flakes, like the original Jamie recipe.

Ingredients: Serves 10

The Pastry Case:

• 250g plain flour
• 50g icing sugar
• 150g butter
• 1tsp cinnamon

The Chocolate Filling:

• 300g dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 300ml double cream
• 1 dried ancho chilli
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 8 cloves

To Make

The Pastry:

Grease a 20cm pie dish, and preheat the oven to 180C

Combine the flour, cinnamon and icing sugar in a large bowl, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in the water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture comes together into a ball of dough.

Turn out onto a floured work surface and roll into a circle, about 5mm thick, and large enough to fit into the tin with an overhang. Transfer the rolled out pastry into the tin  and trim off the edges.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the edges have turned a light golden brown colour. Leave to cool, then remove from the tin and place on a cake stand or serving platter.

The Chocolate Filling:

In a spice grinder, grind the ancho chilli, and cloves to a fine powder.

Heat the double cream in a pan until almost boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the dark chocolate until completely melted and smooth. then add the sugar and spices, mix until evenly distributed.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the tart shell, and leave to set at room temperature for 3-4 hours before serving.

Once set, dust the tart with cocoa powder (using a cookie cutter to get the heart shape), and serve!