I have waxed lyrical about chocolate and explored its origin and its progress through the ages on countless occasions – from the days the Aztecs first turned the crushed beans into an alcoholic drink, through the brutal periods when Spain destroyed a civilization to introduce it (amongst other lesser important things) to the Western world until today and I haven’t nearly finished yet. The subject will, thankfully, never be quite covered and we’ll all discover and re-discover new things about it while we eat as we learn. On a day like Valentines Day, one wants to spend time out of the kitchen and, preferably with the love of your life.

No matter what you plan to do for dinner, supper or lunch – I think this dessert will be a winner. Easy to do beforehand, easy to eat with your hands if need be and absolutely delicious.  Bear in mind that chocolate releases the same chemicals in the brain that love does – so feed the love of your life as much chocolate as you can. This tart has been made over and over again for decades and it has yet to flop. I suggest that the chocolate you use have a high cocoa content for the most serious chocolate flavour. A milk chocolate will produce a very sweet tart, so take my advice and use the dark chocolate.

Ingredients

Crust

• 120 g softened butter
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar
• 40g ground almonds
• 150g cake flour
• 1 egg yolk at room temperature

Chocolate filling

• 350 g dark chocolate, the best you can find and look for something with about 70% cocoa solids
• 200 g crème fraiche

Method

Preheat oven to 200 C

• For the crust, combine all the ingredients in a food processor until it turns into a ball.
• Cover it in cling wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
• Line a fluted tart dish, finishing the edges properly.
• Line the dish with parchment and baking beans and bake blind for 20 minutes.
• Remove, allow the crust to cool and then remove the parchment and beans and set aside.
• Now chop the chocolate into small chunks.
• Bring the crème fraiche to boiling point and remove from the heat immediately.
• Add the chocolate to the crème fraiche and whisk until everything is dissolved away from the heat.
• As soon as everything has combined and the mixture is hot and glossy pour it carefully into the crust, making sure that you do not smooth it with a spatula otherwise you will spoil the finish. (It has to be hot when you pour it, otherwise you will have difficulty in filling your dish evenly).
• Optional: you can add texture to your tart by adding chopped roasted nuts, praline or chocolate praline over the tart once the filling has hardened slightly.
• Serve with a light mixed berry sauce and/or whipped cream to add a difference.

This tart is one of those magic deserts that goes well with almost anything: white tea for the tea lovers,  a good Arabica coffee (Blue Mountain is magical) for the coffee lovers and for the rest of us, an Armagnac or simply a glass of South African Meerlust Rubicon!