Rocky Road Tart

Yield: one 9-inch tart
Recipe: 26/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 140

    Since I wanted to bake a couple of things this weekend and was looking for some ideas, I offered my roommate and best friend to chose the dessert of her liking that I would subsequently make. She thus sacrificed herself to be my quality control representative, as usual, and wisely chose the rocky road tart. Chocolate, marshmallows, walnuts and more chocolate. Wise choice indeed. I thus made this delectable-sounding dessert and it came out great. My only problem was the crust. It was very dry and did not hold together well. Admittedly I might have added a bit more walnuts than suggested in the nut-crust tart shell recipe, but I wasn’t expecting it to come out so dry. With my hotter-than-most oven, it is also quite probable that I baked the tart shell a few minutes too long. Next time I will add more water while making the dough and will make sure to bake it until it just turns golden brown. Apart from the dry crust, the rest was amazing. It is always a good sign when my friend turns back to me and gives me two thumbs up while eating something I made. The centre of the tart was moist and chocolatey, and the marshmallow and walnut chocolate-covered topping was divine. Sweet, rich and chewy, but not to the point of having a sugar overdose. Hence, omitting the dry nutty crust which was most likely overbaked, this rocky road tart was a hit.

Ingredients for filling:

• 1 recipe walnut Nut-Crust Tart Shell, baked and cooled
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 2 oz. (60 g) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 oz. (60 g) semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for topping:

• 3 oz. (90 g) milk chocolate, chopped
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted
• 1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the pan containing the baked and cooled walnut crust onto a baking tray.
2. Place the butter and unsweetened and semisweet chocolates in a metal or glass bowl. Stir the mixture over a pot of barely simmering water until the chocolate has melted. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate in the microwave at 30-second intervals until it is fully melted, stirring with a spatula between each.
3. In a separate bowl and using a hand or stand mixer, whip the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract on high speed until the mixture can hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted, approximately 5 minutes.
4. Reduce the speed to medium-low and pour in the melted chocolate and butter. Mix well to combine.
5. Sift in the flour and salt over the chocolate mixture and blend until incorporated.
6. Pour the filing into the baked tart shell and bake it on the tray for 25-30 minutes, until the top of the tart starts to form small cracks. Prepare the topping while the tart is in the oven.
7. To prepare the topping, place the milk chocolate, butter and oil in a glass or metal bowl. Melt the chocolate as before. Let the melted chocolate cool for 10 minutes.
8. Stir in the walnuts and marshmallows until they are fully coated.
9. While the baked tart is still warm, pierce it with a fork and then evenly spread out the chocolate-covered walnut and marshmallow topping over it. Chill the tart in the pan for at least an hour prior to serving to set the chocolate topping. The tart can be stored and served at room temperature.

Notes from Anna:

• If you cannot find couverture (i.e. baking chocolate) milk chocolate, you can use a regular chocolate bar or even chocolate chips, as long as they are of good quality.

Valerie