Method

For the Dough

1. Put the butter & sugar in a mixing bowl and beat well until creamy and fluffy. Stir in the egg, sifted flour & cocoa powder and combine together. Turn the pastry onto a flowered surface and gently bring together into a small ball. Wrap in cling film and transfer to the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to180˚C. Line the base of 25 cm loose-bottomed tart tin with baking paper/parchment and grease the sides. Roll the pastry out into 30 cm circles, carefully lift it into the tin and pinch it gently around the edges, using two fingers and your thumb. Dock the pastry with a fork. If the pastry is thin enough, don’t prick the base. Put the lined tart pan into the chiller for 15 minutes.
3. Crumble up a sheet of greaseproof paper, flatten it out again and use it to line the base and the pastry case. Fill the centre with dried beans or ceramic baking beans; this is called baking blind. Bake the pastry case for 10 minutes, and then carefully remove the beans and paper and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside on a wire rack.

For Chocolate Filling

1. To make the chocolate filling, put the milk, cream and sugar into a saucepan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring gently. Take off the heat and add the broken chocolate, whisking until smooth, then add the eggs and whisk again. Make sure that the mixture is not too hot, else the eggs will cook. Carefully pour the liquid into the tart cases.
2. Lower the oven temperature to 160˚C. Put the tray with the filled tarts back into the oven for 15 minutes. It is cooked when the filling still has a slight wobble to it.

For the Chocolate Ganache

1. Heat up the cream in a sauce pan and then add the chopped dark chocolate and whisk until a smooth mixture is formed, take off the heat and whisk in the icing sugar.
2. Once the tart is baked, pour the Ganache on top and place in the fridge for the Ganache to set.
3. Serve with a big dollop of Cream Fraiche or pipe a rosette of Cream Chantilly, using a 10 mm star nozzle.