Warm Chocolate Tart with Coffee Nougatine Sauce
Serves: 15
Ingredients
- 6 ounces chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup brewed espresso
- 1-1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 6 egg whites
- 1/2 cup pastry flour
- 1 quart milk
- vanilla bean, seeds only (split pod and scrape)
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 16 egg yolks
- 1/2 pint heavy cream, whipped
- coarse coffee nougatine pieces
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 45 kumquats, cut and seeded
- 15 mint sprigs, julienned
- 2 cups powdered sugar plus 5 ounces
- 3 ounces almonds, coarsely ground
- 3-1/2 ounces coffee beans, ground
- crème anglaise (from preceding recipe)
Directions
- Preheat Oster® Toaster Oven to 350°. Heat coffee and butter, and pour over chocolate. In a bowl, whip 1/4 cup of the sugar with egg yolks with Oster® Hand Mixer until firm ribbon forms. In another bowl, whip the other 1/4 cup sugar with egg whites to form a light meringue. Combine these three mixtures with pastry flour. Transfer batter to a 9-inch cake pan 2 inches deep. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tart rises.
Remove from oven and allow to cool. Return to oven and bake again until exterior becomes firm but tart is still moist inside.
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, scald milk and vanilla bean seeds. Set aside. In a bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Slowly add some milk-vanilla mixture to temper eggs. Pour eggs back into pan with milk. Stir continuously over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In a heavy saucepan, stir sugar over heat until it dissolves and turns pale brown. Slowly add water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Place kumquats into this simple sugar syrup. Cool, then add mint.
- Caramelize sugar in a little water until medium brown. Add almonds and coffee, and stir until smooth.
Cook 2 minutes over low heat. Pour out onto a stainless-steel or marble counter (coated with nonstick cooking spray) and spread as smooth and thin as possible. Allow to cool, then break into small pieces.
Grind in a food processor until fine. Pass result through a tammy or very fine strainer. Reserve pieces too coarse to go through for use as garnish. Mix coffee nougatine powder with all of the creme anglaise in a proportion of 3 tablespoons of powder for each cup of creme anglaise. Allow to infuse for at least 1 hour.
- Heat chocolate tart and place on plates. Pour about 2 tablespoons of sauce on each. Garnish with whipped cream and coarse pieces of coffee nougatine left from the grinding. Spoon sauce around. Garnish with a spoonful of kumquat compote.
