Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust

Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust is a deep dive into an ocean of chocolate. A sultry, dark chocolate filling laps up again the crunchy, salty pretzel crust, fitting together like the waves of the ocean and the rocky shore. Serious chocolate lovers will swoon over a thin slice of this voluptuous tart.

“Liza stayed away a week. She cleaned the Trask house from the top clear down into the grain of the wooden floors. She washed everything she could bend enough to get into a tub and sponged the rest.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

It was one of those days when organizing the pantry seemed less daunting than organizing a closet. Days, then months go by, ignoring the ever growing volume of stuff is so easy. Things that need sorting, tossing or to be recycled. It’s always a good exercise. Gratitude for having more than enough is the best attitude for this project. The pantry wasn’t out of control but there was chocolate for baking in two different places. There were chocolate chips, melting chocolate wafers and an odd assortment of other chocolate. To clarify, this included, white, milk and dark chocolate—unsweetened, semi-sweet, bittersweet—bars, wafers, discs and chunks. The dark chocolate included half packages, random squares and one small unlabeled chunk. Too much? Or not enough? Both! The odd assortment of left over dark chocolate was too much to waste and not enough for a single recipe.

All this Chocolate Tart recipe from Saveur needed was a pretzel crust and my odd assortment of different dark chocolates. A full pound of bittersweet chocolate fills this tart. I used what I had, an odd assortment of bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate. I had no idea if the dark chocolates of different brands, with varying cocoa percents, would come together in this lush tart filling. It worked wonderfully. A friend told me it was the best thing I’ve ever made. (I know, keep the samples coming!) The Mr. told me to give the Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust away before he inhaled every last slice. If you’re looking for an excuse to use up odds and ends of bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate while making all your favorite chocolate lovers happy make the Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust.

Essentials

The Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust is so much easier to make than the Chocolate Tart I usually make. No pastry crust to make, just a press-in crust with pretzels, butter and brown sugar. The salty, crunchy and buttery pretzel crust compliments the sultry chocolate filling. Use a 10” tart pan with a removable bottom to make the Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust. Sharing this beauty with all your favorite chocolate lovers will brighten any day.

	Pretzel Crust, adapted from Baked Elements
7oz	pretzel rods/sticks
6oz	unsalted butter
3T	brown sugar

1. Heat the oven to 325°. Lightly butter the interior on a 10” tart pan with a removable bottom. Cover a sheet pan with parchment.
2. Place the pretzels in the bowl of a food processor, pulse until only a few small pieces remain. All the pretzel pieces should be small enough to easily form into a crust with uniform thickness.
3. In a large skillet melt the butter and then stir in the brown sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pretzel pieces, making sure all the pretzels are coated with butter. Scoop the pretzel mixture into the prepared tart pan. Press the mixture firmly across the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Work the mixture into place so the crust is a uniform thickness. A small measuring cup works better than hands for moving and pressing the pretzel crust into shape. Once the filling is a uniform thickness, use your fingers to compact the top sides of the crust.
4. Place the tart pan on the parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 15-18 minutes. When ready the crust will have lightly browned edges and be deep golden brown in color. Cool completely before filling.

	Chocolate Filling, adapted from Saveur
16oz/1 lb	bittersweet (or part semi-sweet) chocolate
1/2t	instant espresso or coffee
2C	heavy cream
3	egg yolks

1. Place the chocolate in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chopped. Melt the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl in the microwave using 30 second bursts of power. Stop and stir the chocolate after every 30 seconds. Stop microwaving when a few pieces of chocolate are still visible. My microwave took two minutes to melt the chocolate, different microwaves may take different amounts of time. Add the instant espresso or coffee and stir to melt the remaining chocolate until it is cohesive, shiny and glossy.
2. Heat the cream in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat until bubbles appear around inside edge of pan and the cream is just about to boil, then remove the pan from the heat. Do not boil the cream.
3. Meanwhile, put the egg yolks into a medium mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk 1⁄4 cup of the hot cream into the yolks. Then stir egg–cream mixture back into saucepan of hot cream. Gradually add the egg–cream mixture to bowl of melted chocolate, whisking until well combined, smooth and glossy. At first the filling will look curdled, keep mixing until it comes together.
4. Pour the filling into prepared crust and set aside to cool for 30 minutes. Then refrigerate for 3 hours until the chocolate is completely set. Remove the outer ring of tart pan before serving.