Chocolate Pistachio Tart

This post is inspired by the first tart I ever made. A chocolate pistachio tart from one of my favorite blogs “Metukim Sheli”, a blog that pretty much set my path into the baking world. Daniel was in love with this tart from the first bite. Many years have passed since then, but Daniel still hasn’t found any other dessert that has won over his heart as did this chocolate pistachio tart. Every dinner party, Daniel asks for the chocolate pistachio tart. Every birthday, Daniel asks for the chocolate pistachio tart. And, every Monday, well, you get the idea.

This week, Yonatan ordered a cake for his mom to celebrate her retirement. Yonatan asked for a cake made out of pistachios, chocolate or lemon. The plan was to make a festive pistachio cake, layered with mascarpone and lemon cream. After talking with Daniel, Yonatan changed his mind and asked for a chocolate pistachio tart. I think this was Daniel’s way of getting back at me for making him a Ferrero Rocher tart for his birthday last week instead of this pistachio tart.

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In any case, a lot of years have passed since I first made this tart. Every time I baked it, I changed something small. Every time, more and more pistachios snuck into the recipe. There’s pistachio in the crust. There’s pistachio as a hidden layer under all that chocolate. And, there’s even pistachio liqueur in the chocolate layer itself. When Daniel tried to describe the tart, he began to recite a poem, extolling the virtues of each layer.

Back on planet Earth, Yonatan’s tart is ready. Personally, I like to eat the tart at room temperature for a soft, creamy bite that melts in the mouth. Daniel, on the other hand, prefers the tart straight out of the fridge to get a more solid and rich bite. Decide this one on your own.

Ingredients

Crust
175 g flour
20 g shelled pistachios
65 g powdered sugar
2 g salt (½ tsp)
100 g cold butter (cut into cubes)
45 g eggs

Pistachio paste
70 g shelled pistachios
12 g grape seed oil

Dark chocolate ganache
200 g dark chocolate 60%
225 g heavy cream
1 tbsp pistachio liqueur (optional)

Decoration
20 gr chopped pistachios

Equipment
A round ring, 20 cm diameter and 2.5 cm height
A hand blender

Crust

Grind pistachios and powdered sugar in a food processor until you get a powder. Transfer the mixture into the mixer bowl and add flour, salt and butter cubes. Keep in the fridge for about 10 minutes. Remove from fridge. Using the paddle attachment, start mixing at low-medium speed until the batter reaches sand-like consistency. Make sure the butter chunks are as small as possible at the end of the process without melting the butter.

Add the eggs all at once and keep mixing at medium speed until the dough starts to form but is not yet completely uniform. Remove dough parts from the bowl and combine. Cover dough with plastic wrap. Roll out the dough a little bit. Keep in the fridge for at least an hour. (It’s always better to prepare the dough in advance, the dough keeps for up to a week in the fridge and for about two-three months in the freezer.)

When the dough is stiff and cold, remove the plastic wrap. In a cool room, flour the work surface, place the dough on top and dust it with flour as well. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin. Keep turning the dough throughout and make sure it doesn’t stick to the surface. Roll out the dough to a 3-4 mm thickness.

Please note (!) If at any point the dough starts to soften, put it back in the fridge until it is stiff again.

Fonçage:

Lightly butter the inner side of the baking ring so that the dough sticks to it. Place the ring gently on top of the dough and cut a larger circle around the ring. Place the ring on a parchment paper and place the dough gently on top of it. Lift the edges of the dough, gently push the rest of the dough down and attach the edges to the sides of the ring, starting from the bottom of the ring to the top.

Gently press down on the sides so that the corners at the bottom form a right angle. (It’s not the end of the world if the dough gets torn accidentally. Just attach the sides that have been torn apart and move on). Go over the top of the ring with a sharp knife and remove the excess dough.

Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork and put back in the freezer until the dough is stiff again (about half an hour). Line the crust with parchment paper. Fill the crust with pie weights or dry chickpeas. Keep in the freezer. Preheat the oven to 160 ºC (320 ºF). When the desired temperature is reached, remove the crust from the freezer and set it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Place the sheet in the oven and bake for 17 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently remove the parchment paper containing the pie weights (be careful not to break the crust in the process). Put the crust back in the oven and bake for another 10-12 minutes until the crust begins to brown. Set aside to cool.

Brush the top of the crust against a flat mesh sieve to straighten the edges and give it a cleaner, sharper look.

Pistachio paste

Preheat the oven to 160 °C (320 ºF). Scatter the pistachios on a baking tray and roast for about 7 minutes until they brown a bit. After the pistachios have cooled, grind them to a powder in a small food processor. Add the oil and grind again until it becomes a paste.

Spread a thin layer of the pistachio paste at the bottom of the tart. Flatten the surface with a spoon.

Dark chocolate ganache

Break the chocolate into small pieces and put them in a measuring pitcher. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour over chocolate, making sure all the chocolate is covered. Mix a little bit with a spatula and then use a hand blender to blend it to a uniform consistency. Add the pistachio liqueur, or any other nut liqueur (completely optional). Mix well.

Pour the ganache into the tart crust almost to the edge. Let the ganache set in a cool room temperature (or in the fridge if it’s a hot day and you want to speed it up).

Decoration

I got the inspiration for the cool spiral pattern from this blog. I used a record player to create it. First, I let the ganache set at a cool room temperature for about an hour or two after filling the tart. I placed the tart on the record player. Then, I turned on the record player on medium turning speed. Using a teaspoon, I created a spiral by pulling the teaspoon from the center of the tart to the edge.

Decorate the edge of the tart with chopped pistachios. Keep in the fridge for up to two days, but let the tart sit at room temperature for about half an hour before serving.

Yum