Here is a Christmassy dessert that your guests will absolutely love. Double the proportions! This recipe can be found in my book “à table, whisky from glass to plate”.
(photo credit: John Paul)
This dessert is for lovers of pure dark chocolate. It is intense and not sweet. The addition of cardamom brings another dimension to a classic “ganache”.
Chocolate and whisky tart (Winter)
For the pastry
- 40g icing sugar
- 120g unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 tbsp ground almonds
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 200g plain flour
For the ganache
- 250g dark chocolate (60% cocoa minimum) roughly chopped
- 150 ml double cream
- the seeds of 10 cardamom pods
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp single malt
Method
- Preheat the oven (180°C – Gas mark 4).
- In a bowl, mix together the icing sugar, the butter, the ground almonds, salt and the egg yolk. Then add the flour and knead together into a pastry dough. Wrap the pastry in cling film and put in the fridge for one hour.
- Roll out the pastry and line a loose bottomed greased tart tin. Line it with greaseproof paper and fill with dry beans to prevent the pastry from swelling. Cook for 20 minutes then remove the paper and the beans and cook for a further 10 min. Leave to cool.
- Gently toast the cardamom seeds in a dry frying pan for 2 minutes then crush them in a mortar. Put the cream in a saucepan, add the crushed cardamom and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Put the chocolate in a large bowl. Take the cream off the heat and sieve. Pour it over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. Add the instant coffee granules and butter.
- Keep stirring then add the egg yolks. Leave to cool for 20 minutes. Then add the whisky, stir and place in the fridge for 15 minutes. Take the ganache out of the fridge 15 min before filling the pastry case. Put the tart back into the fridge. Allow the tart to come to temperature room 20 minutes before serving.
The pairing
Sherried whiskies are a must here. Unless you want to go for a peated malt but with a full body.
Dark chocolate offers a natural matching with sherried whiskies. For example, Aberlour a’bunadh, The Glenlivet 21 Year Old – Archive, Highland Park 18 Year Old will combine perfectly.
On the other hand, the cardamom, with its balsamic/minty flavours, welcomes smoky whiskies and will be enhanced by a spicy/smoky malt such as Lagavulin Distillers’Edition or Talisker 18 Year Old.