We love dessert in our house and tarts are one of Josh and I’s favorite kind of desserts. We spend our honeymoon almost twelve years ago on a cruise in the Caribbean and we spent almost every evening enjoying all kinds or rich desserts. One that I remember fondly were these mini fruit and custard tarts. For years I’ve been making tarts with those in mind. As much as I love a good custard tart sometimes a girl needs a little chocolate. This chocolate ganache French tart has quickly become one of our families favorite indulgences. It’s rich and smooth with just the perfect amount of sweetness coming through with the fresh berries. If you love chocolate as much as I do, this recipe is for you!

Chocolate Ganache French Tart

9" or 9.5" Chocolate tart with a sweet shortbread crust and a silky smooth chocolate ganache filling.

Author Adapted from Julia Child's Fresh Tart Crust

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup all- purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter (cut into small cubes)
1 Lg. egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
3.5 oz. good quality milk chocolate
6 oz. good quality dark chocolate

Instructions

Put the flour, powdered sugar, butter, and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times until it's combined and resembles course corn meal.
Add the egg and vanilla extract. Pulse until combined and clumping together, but still crumbly. Be careful not pulse so much that the dough starts to form a ball.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press together into a ball. It should come into a ball easily without being over sticky. Flatten the ball just slightly and wrap with plastic wrap and place into the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften slightly. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 11-inch circle, then place gently into a 9 or 9.5-inch tart pan with a removable bottom; you can do this by flouring a rolling pan and rolling the dough loosely around it, then unrolling it into the pan. Trim the edges of the dough to fit the tart pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. (Frozen dough will shrink less during the baking process.)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the rack in the middle of the oven.
Put aluminum foil flat against the crust, making sure to cover the edges so that they do not burn while baking. Fill with pie evenly with weights/dried beans/uncooked rice.
Bake for 20 minutes. Take the crust out of the oven and remove the foil and weights.
Place just the crust back into the oven for 8 minutes or until light golden brown. Make sure to pay close attention to the crust so that the edges do not burn. Once done, place on a cooling rack until completely cool.

Chocolate Ganache Filling

In a small sauce pan on medium heat bring the cream and butter to a simmer. Remove from heat and in a bowl pour the cream over the chocolate. Let sit for a minute or two.
Using a spatula or whisk, mix the chocolate and cream until completely combined and smooth.
Poor chocolate ganache until cooled tart crust. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 4 hours or until set. Top with fresh berries and serve. (Store covered and in the fridge.)

I’ve adapted my sweet crust recipe from Julia Child’s French tart crust recipe in The Art of French Cooking cookbook. This crust is a sweet crust that resembles a short bread cookie. It’s quite perfect for a ganache filling. Tart crust much like a pie crust tend to be delicate when working with them. Unlike a pie trust, tart crust has a nice crumble and does not flake. It can take a little practice rolling out and getting it into your tart pan, but it becomes easier with time and before you know it you’ll be able to do it in your sleep!

The filling is a simple ganache. I like to use Ghirardelli chocolate but you can use whatever you prefer. The chocolate is the star of the show so I would recommend splurging and getting a really great quality chocolate.

This particular tart I use raspberries or strawberries or both!

Look at that smooth, silky chocolate! This tart never last very long in our house. I love this dessert for summer because it’s not a heavy dessert yet I still get my chocolate fix.

I’m so glad you stopped by! I’d love to know what your favorite summer dessert is. Are you a chocolate lover too? Be sure to collect the recipes below from a few of my talented blogging friends for later. There’s so many delicious recipes perfect for your next summer party!