St Patrick’s Light-as-air Chocolate Tart

A chocolate tart with a Maryland chocolate chip cooking base and light, whipped cream, dark chocolate and whiskey filling. The saltiness adds a bit of depth. Never fails! If you use Edradour cream instead of Bailey’s you could argue that you’ve incorporated St Andrew into the mix!

Recipe for St Patrick’s Light-as-air Chocolate Tart
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup/200g/7 oz dark (70% plus) chocolate (or dark chocolate chunks)
- 1¼ cup/300 ml whipping cream
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp Baileys (if you don’t have any Bailey’s use 2 tbsp cream and 2 tbsp Irish whiskey… and if you don’t have any Irish whiskey… St Patrick would say it was anathema…. but use Scottish! The ideal, in fact, is Edradour Cream Liqueur)
- 2 pkts of Maryland chocolate chip cookies
- 150g/three fifths of a packet of butter/5 oz butter
- salt flakes (gold if possible)
Method
- Melt the butter.
- Crush the biscuits, mix with the butter, then squish, squelch, squash, push and press into a pie dish using the round side of a spoon and put in the fridge for half an hour.
- Melt chocolate in glass bowl over boiling water (NB not touching the water).
- Allow to cool, in the meanwhile whip the cream and sugar.
- When it starts to stiffen slowly at the Baileys.
- Gradually mix in the melted chocolate.
- Spread the mixture into the pie crust.
- Refrigerate about six hours….. alright…. my daughter got to this point when the guests were pretty much knocking at the door, it’s not a disaster if you have to serve right then.
- Sprinkle with salt.
Scrummy! The salt and Baileys works a little like salted caramel – just more alcoholic.
I made this on Thursday night for a very relaxed dinner with friends on Friday. It was easy to make, and best of all looked very smart and tasted even more wonderful. Much lighter feel than you’d think and the chocolate melts in your mouth beautifully. I made sure to be patient enough to let the melted chocolate get cool enough, as I’ve caused myself problems in the past when making chocolate fondues (v similar process without whipping the cream)!
I’m delighted it was such a success, sd