Classic Chocolate Mousse Tart

The making of pastry is truly an art and because of this it tends to scare people. Fear no more, my friends! I have perfected a recipe that I can guarantee will work every time and, whats more, your food processor will do all the hard work for you. I made this particular dish for a dinner party recently and I have to say that it went down a storm. You can't go too far wrong with chocolate and salted caramel and this dessert is a winner every time.

Make this once and you'll make it time and time again.

Classic Chocolate Mousse Tart

Serves 8-10

For the pastry:

125g plain flour 

65g unsalted butter, diced 

pinch salt 

1½ tbsp icing sugar

zest ½ lemon 

1 egg yolk

For the filling:

225g good quality dark chocolate, chopped 

4 tbsp unsalted butter 

3 large eggs, separated 

60g icing sugar 

300ml cold double cream

For the salted caramel:

450g caster sugar 

100g butter 

350ml double cream 

2 tsp flaked sea salt

To Serve:

mascarpone

chocolate shavings

Preheat oven to 180C. 

To make the pastry, place the flour and butter in a food processor and process until coarse crumbs. Add salt, sugar and lemon zest and process until combined. Add egg yolk then enough cold water (about 1 tablespoon) to form a dough. Transfer the dough to a floured bench, knead lightly, wrap in plastic and set aside in the fridge 30 minutes. 

Remove dough from fridge, roll out thinly and line a 24cm tart tin. Freeze for 10 minutes. Blind bake in the oven for 10 minutes, remove weights and continue baking until golden, about another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

In a bowl set over a pan of hot water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring. Remove from the heat and beat with a heavy wooden spoon until smooth. Return to the heat and add the yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl. 

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks start to form. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and beat until stiff. 

In a third bowl, beat the cream until it becomes frothy. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until it holds soft peaks. 

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until no white specks appear. Gradually fold in the whipped cream. Spoon the mousse into the pre-baked tart shell and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate until well chilled.

To make the salted caramel, place sugar in a frypan and place over medium heat. Allow sugar to boil until caramel colour, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add butter, cream and salt and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

To serve, slice tart and serve with salted caramel, a dollop of mascarpone and a few shavings of chocolate.