Chocolate and peanut butter tart – 5th bloggiversary celebration

This tart is possibly one of the most professional looking things I’ve made.  I think it’s the marbling on top of the peanutty white chocolate through the dark.

The peanut butter and white chocolate melted together was a test of my willpower, in that I wanted to eat it by the spoonful straight from the microwave!

Usually, when a recipe calls for dark chocolate I use a mix of dark and milk to sweeten it.  I didn’t here because this tart is all about the dark chocolate/salty peanut contrast.  The white chocolate adds some sweetness but this is a rich, dark tart which packs a sophisticated punch of flavour.  In this shot I think you can see the three layers of pastry, white choc/peanut butter, dark chocolate:

I had my doubts about the pastry when I made it, and even when I took it from the fridge to roll.  It is dry, and it is a little crumbly, but once you start rolling it behaves.  There is just enough pastry to line the tin so don’t panic – it’s thin and biscuity.

Five years.  I’ve been blogging for five years now.  Those five years have changed my life beyond measure – when I started blogging I hadn’t even met Mr CC, now I can’t imagine life without him.  The five years have contained extreme highs and devastating lows but the constant thing in my life has been baking – however silly that sounds.  My routine of Friday or Saturday bake, Sunday blog has pretty much been set in stone barring holidays and work travel, and even then I’ve tried to post, just maybe on a different day. 

Thank you for visiting my site and leaving your lovely comments; I hope you find enjoyment in what you find – whether it’s using the recipes to create your own delights, or merely treating it like a cake shop and window shopping!

I suppose it is a bit weird to photograph everything you bake (and then assume other people will want to see it!).  All I can say is that I’ll know it’s time to stop when a photo like this doesn’t excite me any more:

Ingredients

For the pastry:

200g plain flour
80g unsalted butter, cold
40g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1-2 tablespoons cold water – I needed 2

For the dark chocolate filling:

200ml double cream
250g dark chocolate, broken into chunks – I used Green & Blacks 70% dark chocolate
1 tablespoon golden syrup
50g unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

For the white chocolate filling:

100g white chocolate, broken into chunks
100g smooth peanut butter

Method

Start by making the pastry: Place the flour, butter and sugar into the food processor and blitz until you have fine crumbs.  Alternatively, use the rubbing in method i.e.  rubbing the butter and flour through your fingertips until the ingredients incorporate into crumbs.

Add the egg yolk and blitz again.

Add the water, a tablespoon at a time, and pulse the processor until the mixture forms wet clumps.

Tip out onto a sheet of clingfilm and – handling as little as possible – form into a ball.

Flatten into a disc, wrap in the clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  (I made it the night before and left it in the fridge – it’s fine!)

Roll out the pastry between two sheets of clingfilm.  At first it will seem too crumbly but persevere and, as the pastry warms, it will behave.  You will need to roll it thin to line the tin.

Take a 23cm loose bottomed flan tin and line it with the pastry.  Patch as needed.

Prick the bottom several times with a fork and return to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/390°F/gas mark 6.

Line the pastry with baking paper or non stick foil, and weigh down with baking beans.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

Remove the beans and foil and return the exposed pastry case to the oven for a further 5 minutes, or until it is a light golden brown.

Leave to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/ fan oven 140°C/320°F/gas mark 3

Now make the dark chocolate filling: place the cream, chocolate, golden syrup and butter in a saucepan and gently heat to melt the ingredients.

Stir frequently and don’t wander off and leave it!

When all the ingredients have melted i.e. you can’t feel any more lumps of chocolate, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.

When cool, beat in the eggs and yolk and stir with gusto to incorporate.  At first the chocolate will refuse to accept the eggs but suddenly you will feel the mix thicken and come together.

Put to one side.

Now make the white chocolate filling: place the ingredients in a dish, cover and microwave.  I gave it 30 second bursts and stirred after each.  In total, it only took just over a minute to melt.  Alternatively, you can melt them in a bowl, over a pan of simmering water.

Spoon 2/3s of the white chocolate mixture into the bottom of the pastry case.

Pour the dark chocolate mixture over it taking care to be gentle – you don’t want to disturb the white chocolate layer.

Level the surface then spoon over the remaining white chocolate.

Using a skewer swirl the white chocolate so it is evenly distributed across the dark chocolate.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until set.  Mine took 25 minutes.

Leave to cool.

Refrigerate until you wish to serve.  I served with thick cream.

Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.

Eat.