This is unbelievable. Seriously. Without a doubt one of the best things I have ever made. I was unsure of how it would turn out as I was kind of making it up as I went along, but ohmygoodness did I luck out here. The best part: it is super-easy. It does take some time — both the crust and the filling must cool completely at separate times, but the hardest thing about this recipe is having to wait for it to be done! This is not super sweet as there is no sugar added to the ganache and dark chocolate tends to be a little bitter. Personally I like a subtly sweet-salty dessert, but if you like something sweeter substitute milk chocolate for the dark.
Another bonus: this recipe can be vegan with no compromise on taste or texture — just substitute Earth Balance or other equally good butter substitute for the butter in the crust and soy for the dairy milk in the ganache. Also, make sure that you read the ingredients on your chocolate, but any high quality dark chocolate should not contain milk fat and should be vegan.
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
– 1 c. flour
– 1/3 c. powdered sugar
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1/4 c. finely chopped hazelnuts (or other nut if you prefer)
– 1/2 c. cold butter (substitute)
For the ganache filling:
– 10 oz. dark chocolate
– 3/4 c. (soy) milk
– 1 tsp. vanilla
– Sea salt to top (1-2 Tbsp. according to preference)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Sift together flour, powdered sugar and salt
3. Mix in chopped hazelnuts
4. Cut in butter
5. Work butter into dry ingredients — can be done in food processor or with hands — until a dough begins to form
6. Work dough into cohesive ball
7. Press dough into a spring-form pie or tart tin. You can also use a shallow pie pan, but edges of crust should not come up more than 3/4”
8. Place crust in freezer for 10 minutes
9. Bake crust at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown
10. Allow crust to cool completely
11. In a small saucepan warm (soy) milk over medium heat until it begins to simmer
12. Place chocolate into a large heat-proof bowl
13. Strain hot milk through sieve onto chocolate. Add vanilla. Whisk until all chocolate is melted and ganache is smooth and free of lumps
*If you have any trouble getting your chocolate to melt completely you can stick it in the microwave, but NEVER for more than 20 seconds at a time. One or two 20 second trips should be more than enough
14. Pour ganache into pie shell. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours.
15. Carefully remove tart from tin and transfer to serving plate. Top with sea salt according to preference and serve.
theindiehomemaker 