Chocolate-Passion Tart
Chocolate pâte sucrée, passion fruit curd, milk-chocolate croustillant, dark chocolate crémeux
Pâte sucrée chocolat — Grolet
- 115 g butter, softened
- 70 g icing sugar
- 25 g hazelnut powder
- 1 g salt
- 45 g eggs
- 190 g flour T65
- 60 g potato starch
- 50 g cocoa powder
Passion fruit curd
- 200 g reduced passion fruit juice
- 100 g egg yolks
- 100 g sugar
- 120 g butter
- 4–5 g gelatin, bloomed (about 2 sheets)
- pinch of salt
Crémeux chocolat
- 360 g dark chocolate, 66–70%, finely chopped or melted
- 360 g whole milk
- 360 g heavy cream, 35%
- 144 g egg yolks (about 8)
- 72 g sugar
- good pinch of salt
- 2 g gelatin, optional, for a firmer piping texture
Feuilletine
- 50 g egg whites
- 50 g flour
- 50 g icing sugar
- 50 g melted butter
Milk-chocolate croustillant
- milk chocolate, melted, enough to bind the crushed feuilletine
Finish
- cocoa powder, for finishing
A layered chocolate-passion tart built for contrast: a cocoa pâte sucrée shell, a thin milk-chocolate feuilletine croustillant, sharp passion fruit curd, and a smooth dark chocolate crémeux brought level with the shell. The tart needs an overnight rest so the crémeux slices cleanly and the passion layer settles without running.
Method
Pâte sucrée chocolat
- Paddle the softened butter with icing sugar, hazelnut powder, and salt until smooth. Emulsify with the eggs.
- Add flour, potato starch, and cocoa powder. Mix only until homogeneous — stop as soon as no dry flour remains.
- Flatten into a disc, wrap, and rest at least 4 hours in the fridge, ideally overnight.
- Roll to about 3mm and line a 20–22cm tart ring. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
- Blind bake at 165°C until fully baked and matte. Brush the inside with beaten egg yolk while still warm, then return to the oven for about 5 minutes to seal the shell.
The egg-yolk lacquer isolates the shell from the passion curd and keeps the base crisp.
Feuilletine
- Mix flour and icing sugar. Whisk in the egg whites, then incorporate the melted butter.
- Spread very thinly on baking paper or a Silpain mat.
- Bake at 180°C for 5–10 minutes, depending on thickness, until crisp and lightly coloured. Cool completely.
- Crush into fine flakes. Store extra feuilletine in an airtight jar, away from humidity and temperature swings, for up to 2 months.
Milk-chocolate croustillant
- Melt enough milk chocolate to coat and bind the crushed feuilletine.
- Fold the feuilletine into the melted chocolate until every flake is coated but the mix is still crisp.
- Spread a thin even layer into the sealed tart shell. Let it crystallize before adding the curd.
Keep this layer thin. Too much croustillant makes the tart hard to cut cleanly.
Passion fruit curd
- Bloom the gelatin in cold water. If starting from fresh or bottled passion juice, reduce it first until concentrated, then weigh 200 g for the recipe.
- Whisk egg yolks, sugar, reduced passion fruit juice, and salt in a saucepan.
- Cook gently, stirring constantly with a spatula, until thickened like a curd. Do not boil.
- Off heat, add the bloomed gelatin, then the butter. Blend with a hand blender until smooth and glossy.
- Cool until pipeable but still fluid, then pipe or spread over the set croustillant.
Crémeux chocolat
- If using the optional gelatin, bloom it in cold water.
- Heat milk and cream together. Whisk yolks with sugar and salt. Temper the hot dairy into the yolks, then return to the pan.
- Cook as an anglaise to 82–84°C, stirring constantly. Do not boil.
- Pour through a sieve over the dark chocolate. Wait 1 minute, then blend to a smooth, glossy emulsion. Add bloomed gelatin if using.
- Cool until thickened but still fluid enough to pour or pipe.
Assembly and finish
- In the sealed shell, add a thin milk-chocolate croustillant layer.
- Pipe the passion fruit curd over the croustillant.
- Add the chocolate crémeux up to the height of the tart shell and smooth flush with an offset spatula.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, dust with cocoa powder. Slice with a knife whose blade has been warmed with a blowtorch or hot water, wiping between cuts.
Background
The passion fruit layer needs enough acidity to cut through the chocolate crémeux, so the juice is reduced before weighing. This gives intensity without adding excess water to the tart.
The croustillant is the moisture barrier and texture contrast. Coating the feuilletine in milk chocolate protects it from the curd and keeps the bite crisp under the creamy layers.
The chocolate crémeux is essentially an anglaise poured over chocolate. The target is an elastic, glossy emulsion; overheating the custard or under-blending the chocolate will make it grainy.
Mistakes I've Made
- Not sealing the shell. Passion curd is wet and acidic; without the egg-yolk lacquer the cocoa pâte sucrée softens quickly.
- Croustillant too thick. A thick chocolate-feuilletine layer shatters and pushes the curd out when sliced. Spread it thinly.
- Boiling the curd or crémeux. Both contain egg yolks and will scramble if boiled. Cook gently and stir constantly.
- Assembling while layers are hot. Hot curd melts the croustillant; hot crémeux disturbs the passion layer. Each layer should be cool but workable.
- Cutting with a cold knife. The crémeux smears and the croustillant cracks. Warm the blade and wipe between cuts.
Sources
- Pâte sucrée chocolat | Grolet —
- Feuilletine —
- Chocolate-Passion Tart —