Chocolate Pecan Tart Recipes

CHOCOLATE-TOFFEE PECAN TART

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pulse the flour, cocoa, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Add the egg and pulse once or twice. (Stop before the dough gathers into a ball.) Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Place the dough on a large sheet of lightly floured parchment paper. Roll into a 12-inch round, no more than 1/8 inch thick. Invert the dough over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and peel off the parchment; press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. (If the dough tears, just pat it back together.) Trim the excess dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
• Position racks in the middle and lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake on the middle rack, 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Prepare the filling: Coarsely chop 1 cup pecans. Combine the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla and kosher salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture turns dark amber, 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately stir in the chopped pecans and cook 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the corn syrup and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool until lukewarm, then whisk in the eggs and bourbon until combined. (The tart can be made 1 day ahead up to this point; cover and refrigerate the filling and wrap the cooled crust in plastic wrap.)
• Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and pour in the filling up to the brim. Arrange the remaining 1/2 cup pecan halves on top. Bake on the lower oven rack until the tart is evenly browned and slightly domed in the center, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE PECAN TART

Steps:

• To make the crust:
• Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse two or three times to combine. Add the butter and continue pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water by drizzling about 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each drizzle. Stop once the dough begins to come together.
• Transfer the dough to a board and use the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper to press it together. Pat into a disk approximately 6 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to a 13 to 14-inch circle, flouring the dough and board as necessary to keep it from sticking. Roll up the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it into the tart pan. Gently lift the edges to ease the dough into the corners of the pan, then push the dough down gently to be certain the dough around the sides is 1/4 inch thick. Use a paring knife to cut excess dough from the rim of the pan. If necessary, pat a bit of the dough trimmings into any thin spots. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375degreesF. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet.
• Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, line with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the parchment and weights, and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate evenly over the bottom of the crust and bake for an additional minute, just to melt the chocolate. Remove from the oven and use the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula to spread the chocolate in an even layer. Let cool on a rack while you prepare the filling. Raise the oven temperature to 400degreesF.
• To make the filling:
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water and stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, without stirring, swirling the pan so the caramel colors evenly. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, brush with a wet pastry brush. Test the color of the caramel by drizzling a few drops onto a white plate. When the color is medium to dark amber, remove from the heat. Slowly and carefully - it will bubble up - add the cream.
• Return the caramel to medium heat and cook for 3 minutes to thicken slightly, reducing the heat to medium-low if the caramel bubbles too much. Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.
• Place the tart shell on a baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the vanilla, egg, and yolk. Slowly whisk into the caramel. Stir in the melted butter, followed by the nuts and nibs, if using. Pour the filling into the prepared tart shell. The filling will come to the top of the shell. (If the crust has shrunk during baking, it may not hold all the filling.)
• Bake the tart for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375degreesF and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the filling is set.
• Let cool on a rack for about 10 minutes. While still warm, move the tart in the pan to loosen the edges where the caramel has stuck, but keep it in the pan.
• Let cool completely before removing the tart ring.
• Serve each wedge of tart with a dollop of the cocoa whipped cream.
• Cocoa Whipped Cream:
• Place the cream in a chilled metal bowl or mixer bowl. With a whisk, or the whisk attachment, whip the cream until slightly frothy. Combine the sugar with the cocoa powder. Sprinkle into the cream and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 hour.

CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL PECAN TART

Steps:

• Crust: Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until combined. Beat butter with confectioners' sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined and crumbly (do not overmix). Pat dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 1 month.
• On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. With a paring knife, trim dough flush with rim; refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.
• Blind-bake crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prick bottom of tart all over with a fork. Bake until set and dough is dry, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Filling: Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring gently, until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, occasionally washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Cook until syrup is amber in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully add heavy cream (caramel will steam and spatter). Add butter, vanilla, salt, and chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Add pecans; stir until combined. Transfer mixture to tart crust. Let stand until set and cool, about 2 hours. Tart can be served room-temperature or refrigerated, uncovered, up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes and sprinkle with flaky salt before serving.

CHOCOLATE-MAPLE PECAN TART

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine butter and granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in yolks, then flour and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal and holds together when pinched. Fold in chocolate. Press evenly into bottom and up sides of a 13-by-4-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Bake crust until golden and set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Increase oven heat to 350 degrees.
• Filling: Whisk together maple sugar, flour, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in eggs and whites, butter, and corn syrup until smooth. Place crust on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Scatter pecans evenly onto crust. Slowly pour in filling. Bake tart until puffed slightly and set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Remove from pan; serve.

CHOCOLATE-PECAN TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to a 12-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Wrap dough around rolling pin, and unwrap over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan; trim edge of dough.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, light corn syrup, 4 teaspoons melted butter, and the vanilla. Scatter chocolate evenly over tart shell. Pour filling over chocolate. Arrange pecans on top, as desired. Dot with 2 teaspoons chilled butter.
• Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling is set, 45 to 60 minutes. If pecans are browning too quickly, tent pan with foil. Remove from oven; while still hot, drizzle with bourbon, if desired. Let tart cool completely before serving.