for the love of chocolate

Imagine the best tart crust you can-buttery, flaky, and just a little sweet-and now imagine that it’s chocolate through and through. This crust is made the way a classic French tart shell is made: The butter is worked into the dry ingredients, the mixture is then moistened with egg yolk and water, and the dough is given a fraisage – the French term for a good working under the heel of your hand-to bring it all together.

When I hear that term I always think about the last massage I had at the spa….

Anyway, back to the dough. This crust has a full, fabulous flavor of chocolate that can be used to make the extravagantly rich Chocolate Truffle Tartlets, or to fill with pastry cream or crème fraîche and top with fruits. Or to create a grown-up ice cream pie, fill with superior ice cream and drizzle with a bittersweet chocolate sauce.

Is it time for dessert?

Enjoy!
Shannon


Chocolate Dough
Recipe by David Ogonowski
Makes enough for six 5-inch tartlets or one 10-inch tart

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 stick (4 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp. ice water

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, put the flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt in the work bowl and pulse just to blend. Add the butter and pulse 8 to 10 times, until the pieces are about the size of small peas. With the machine running, add the yolk and ice water and process, in bursts, just until crumbly-don’t overwork it. Turn it out onto the work surface and, working with small portions, smear the dough across the surface with the heel of your hand.

Chilling the Dough: Gather the dough together and shape it into a rough square. Pat it down to compress it slightly, and wrap it in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Storing: The dough can remain in the refrigerator for 3 days, or it can be wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Thaw the dough, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out.