Chocolate Mousse Tart with Berry Coulis

September 16, 2016

Every now and then, you just want to lift the bar and create an amazing dessert - this is one of them. We made it for book club (we have refined our book club to just providing dessert, as making all three courses, is just too time consuming in the week. So the dessert has to be good, as it is the main feature of the night!).  This recipe is easy to make if you get yourself well prepared before you start. Make the pastry the day before, roll it out and place it in the flan tin, covered - this speeds up the preparation time. Also, you can make the entire dessert, the day before and just bring it to room temperature before you serve it. We tried this with the leftovers and it was as good as it tasted on the first day it was made. Perfect for a mid week gathering!

Chocolate Mousse Dessert with Berry Coulis adapted from a MasterChef Australia recipe by Mindy Woods, contestant.

Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry

• 100g (2/3 cup) plain flour
• 70 g Dutch Cocoa (we used Nestle cocoa)
• 20 g ground almonds
• 60 g icing sugar
• 90 g unsalted butter
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Chocolate Mousse

• 275 g dark chocolate (preferably containing 70g cocoa solids but we used a combination of 62% cocoa solids and a Devonport Chocolates dark chocolate berry crush tablet - for a hint of South Island raspberries), finely crushed
• 140g unsalted butter, chopped (we actually just use standard, NZ salted butter)
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 110 g (1/2 cup) castor sugar
• 1 orange zest (optional)

Berry Coulis (optional)

• 1-2 cups frozen or fresh boysenberries or raspberries plus 1-2 Tbsp icing sugar
• 1/2- 1 tsp cornflour made to a smooth paste with 1 Tbsp of cold water
• Splash of rum (optional).

Method

Pastry

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease a 24 cm round fluted flan or tart dish.
2. Place the four, cocoa, almonds and sugar in the food processor. If using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt (we use standard NZ salted butter so leave out the pinch of salt). Process for 30 seconds, or until well combined.
3. Add butter and process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg and process just until the mixture comes together. Shape into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out the pastry between two pieces of baking paper or plastic wrap, until about 4mm thick. Line the greased flan dish. Trim the edge (we tend to do this after the flan has cooked, if the edges are not too long). Prick base with a fork. Chill for another 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 minutes (or cover it and leave overnight, until you need it).
5. Line the pastry base with baking paper and ceramic balls (to weigh the pastry down). You can use uncooked rice for this, just make sure no rice granules get lodged in the pastry. Place the tart pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the baking paper and the ceramic balls (careful, they will be hot) or rice granules. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes, or until the base is dry. Cool 10 minutes.

 

Mousse Filling

1. Place the chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl, over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl does not touch the boiling water, nor should any water get into the chocolate/butter mixture). Stir occasionally and heat until the mixture is smooth and all melted together. Set aside and cool slightly. Reserve the simmering water.
2. Place eggs, egg yolks and castor sugar in a heatproof bowl over the pan of simmering water. Using a hand held electric beater, whisk on medium speed for 6 minutes, or until the mixture has tripled in size and holds a trail with a spoon. Remove from the heat and add orange zest.
3. Fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture in three batches. Carefully, fold the mixture together, making sure you do not lose the air in the egg mixture.  This is key to having a delicious, light mousse texture.
4. Immediately, pour the mousse into the cooked pastry case.  Level it with a spatula or spoon. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes, until it is just set (do not let it go dry).
5. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

 

Berry Coulis

1. Place the frozen berries in a saucepan and gently allow them to thaw and cook to a mushy texture. Remove them from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve. Only use the berry liquid that goes through the sieve. (You can keep the berry pulp for the top of your breakfast cereal, or mix it through yoghurt).
2. Place the berry liquid in a saucepan with the icing sugar and heat, gently. Add the cornflour mixture to thicken. If it gets too thick, add some water. It should be runny but hold a light trail, on a spoon.
3. Remove from the heat and add a splash of rum or whisky, if you wish.

Serve the tart with the berry coulis and a blob of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

 

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