Rosemary Dark Chocolate Tart

This Rosemary Dark Chocolate Tart is a twist on a classic - consisting of a chocolate tart shell with a dark chocolate filling infused with orange zest and rosemary. Add a spoonful of espresso whipped cream on the side for the ultimate dessert.

Rosemary & Orange Dark Chocolate Filling

In order to make your rosemary, dark chocolate & orange filling, combine the cream, butter, rosemary, and orange peel into a small saucepan. Heat the mixture on low until liquid is simmering, then remove the saucepan from heat. In order to properly infuse your cream, allow the mixture to sit in a fridge for 1-2 hours or even overnight. 

Once your cream has been infused, bring it back to a simmer by heating it on low. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over simmering water and allow chocolate to melt slowly.

Once melted, strain the infused cream into your chocolate and discard the rosemary and orange peel. Stir the chocolate and cream together until smooth and set aside. 

Place your egg, yolks, and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on medium until your mixture is light, pale, and frothy.

Slowly pour the egg mixture into the chocolate, while mixing, until combined. 

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Mixing Chocolate Sweet Tart Dough

To make your tart shell, you'l start by mixing sugar, butter, vanilla paste, salt, almond, all-purpose flour, and black cocoa powder until combined. Take a moment to scrape the mixing bowl before moving onto the next step.

Add room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing between additions, then add bread flour, making sure to not overmix.

Wrap the mixed dough tightly in plastic wrap. Then, place in the fridge to chill before using for at least one hour. Remove your dough from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to roll it out - you’ll find that it will be MUCH easier to work with!

Forming Tart Shell

Lightly dust the table you'll be working on, and using a rolling pin, gently roll out your dough. As you roll, make sure it does not start sticking to the surface you are working on.

Once your dough is rolled to the desired thickness (I prefer ¼ inch), press gently into the bottom of your buttered tart pan and forming to the sides. Poke the bottom of the tart LIBERALLY with a fork, and place in the freezer to chill for 20-30 minutes.

This is essential - your tart shells are less likely to shrink while baking if you take the time to freeze your shells.

Baking

As this tart shell takes longer to bake than the chocolate filling, we will be par-baking the shell. This ultimately means that you will partially bake this tart dough lined with parchment paper and baking rice/beans acting as weights for 15 minutes. Then, once the tart dough is set, add chocolate filling and bake for 12 minutes more.

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Crystalizing Herbs/Flowers

Crystallized edible herbs and flowers help to elevate desserts with an elegant finish. Here's a few examples of a few edible flowers you can crystalize:

Crystalizing Process

The process of crystalizing herbs and flowers is incredibly quick! Here's how you would go about crystalizing various ingredients:

• Whisk up your egg white until it is foamy.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly paint flowers or herbs with egg white and sprinkle granulated sugar on top.
• Lay each sprig on a baking sheet with parchment paper and place it in a cool area for 8 hours. 

Garnish

Using a microplane, zest half of an orange over the top of the tart and garnish with crystallized rosemary.

Storing Rosemary Dark Chocolate Tart

Once you've formed your tart shells, you can wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and throw them in the freezer! They will last up to two months in the freezer, allowing you to pull one out and bake at your leisure.

Make sure to fill and bake this tart at maximum one day in advance and store in the fridge. One hour before serving, allow the tart to thaw outside of the fridge and serve at room temperature.