I believe there are certain recipes everyone should know how to cook: roast chicken, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, a decent frittata. Macaroni and cheese if you’re in the USA. Milanesas and empanadas if you’re in Argentina. Bacon & egg pie and whitebait fritters if you’re in New Zealand.

In the sweet department, in my opinion (and for your own personal happiness) you should be able to make: classic chocolate chip cookies, brownies, banana bread, lolly cake if you’re in NZ, alfajores if you’re in Argentina. Also: apple pie, and a classic chocolate tart.

This is a very good chocolate tart recipe that will make you look really good when you bring it to your friend’s house. It has nearly ½ kg of dark chocolate so how can that fail?

Pre-heat oven to 200°C.

Recipe calls for 400g of sweet pastry. I used this recipe from Jamie Oliver without the orange zest.

Sieve flour and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl.

Chop the butter into cubes, then using your fingertips, gently work it into the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (or pulse it in a food processor).

Add finely grated orange zest (if using).

Beat the egg with the milk and vanilla extract (or seeds from vanilla pod), then add to the mixture.

Gently work it together until it forms a ball of dough. Don’t work the pastry too much at this stage or it will become elastic and chewy, not crumbly and short.

Pat into a flat round about 2.5cm thick, wrap the dough in cling wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll pastry out on a floured work surface until it’s about ½ cm thick and use to line a lightly oiled 25 cm loose-bottomed tart tin, leaving a good overlapping edge. Make sure you push it into all the sides. Rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Cut off overlapping edge of pastry. Line pastry with greaseproof paper and weigh it down with baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then take out of the oven and turn oven down to 170°C.

While pastry is baking, melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, whisking until smooth. Cool slightly.

Beat egg yolks, whole egg and sugar in a mixer until thick, then mix in chocolate and butter mixture.

Put in the pastry shell.

Bake until set, approximately 10–20 minutes. The filling will feel firm to the touch, with a light crust.

In the meantime, heat cream in a pan to just under simmering and add chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Pour ganache over the chocolate tart and leave it to set at room temperature.

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Chocolate Tart

From The Great New Zealand Baking Book, copyright © Jim Byars from The Friday Shop

Makes: 1 large tart | Prep time: 15 mins, plus chilling | Cook time: 25-35 mins | Skill level: 2 (moderate)

Ingredients

• 400 g sweet pastry

Filling

• 200 g dark chocolate
• 100 g butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 25 g caster sugar

Ganache

• 200 g dark chocolate, chopped
• 100 ml cream

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200°C (or 165–180°C fan-bake).

Roll pastry out on a floured work surface and use to line a 25 cm flan ring tin, leaving a good overlapping edge. Rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Line pastry with greaseproof paper and weigh it down with baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes, then take out of the oven and turn oven down to 170°C (145–150°C fan-bake). Remove paper and beans, and cut off overlapping edge of pastry.

While pastry is baking, melt chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, whisking until smooth. Cool slightly. Beat egg yolks, whole egg and sugar in a mixer until thick, then mix in chocolate and butter mixture. Put in the pastry shell and bake until set, approximately 10–20 minutes. The filling will feel firm to the touch, with a light crust. Remove from oven.

In the meantime, heat cream in a pan to just under simmering and add chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Pour ganache over the chocolate tart and leave it to set at room temperature.

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Bookreps New Zealand

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