Bittersweet Chocolate Tart and Stylist Magazine

Stylist Magazine - yeah ... it's one of the highlights of my week. For those that don't live in the UK or those lucky people who do live in the UK but don't have to take public transport to work, it's a free women's magazine that is distributed in train and tube stations on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday morning. They don't distribute it at any of my tube stations on my way to or from work so a lovely friend at work delivers it to my desk on Wednesday morning whoop whoop!

It is pretty amazing for a free magazine, or just for a magazine generally; full of fashion (it's actually a bit too high-fashion and pricey for me but that's okay, I can gloss over those pages), beauty, a great column and so on. My favourite bits are where they get someone with a (mostly) really cool job such as the MD of a Literary Agency or the organiser of the MOBO awards to talk about their typical day and how they got to do what they do, and the recipes! I have ripped many a recipe page out of the magazine only to pass it on to my sister (an unfortunate Stylist-deprived person) half torn and tattered. She reads it anyway!

This Cappuccino Pavlova is from the magazine as is this incredible Spinach and Coconut Milk Soup and these AH-MAZING Champagne and Raspberry Cupcakes. And I have in my pile of Stylist cut outs, still to make, a pistachio cake with white chocolate frosting, a lemon pudding of sorts, a wild rice salad and lots of other luscious-sounding recipes!
Each week, I read and savour the magazine knowing that I have yet to come across the best bit - the recipe at the end (save the best till last and all)! Even better is that there are also recipes at Stylist Magazine Online ; which is where today's recipe is from.

So Stylist Magazine, don't say I never gave you anything. You just had an entire blog post dedicated to you!

Recipe from Stylist Magazine Online. They published it from The Newlywed Cookbook by Sarah Copeland.

Ingredients
1/2 cup / 115g unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of fine sea salt
1 cup / 115g all-purpose/plain flour
1/2 cup / 120ml double cream
1/2 cup / 120ml whole milk
2 tbsp sugar
pinch of fine sea salt
7oz / 200g high-quality bittersweet (dark) chocolate, chopped (1 heaping cup)
1 large egg, beaten
smoked sea salt (I used normal sea salt flakes)
Creme fraiche (optional)

1 - Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C / gas mark 4.

2 - To make the crust: Whisk together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the flour and stir until it feels like damp sand. Press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of an 8-inch/20-cm square or 9-inch/23-cm round tart pan/flan tin with a removable bottom (which makes it easier to remove the tart in one piece. If you don't have a tart pan/flan tin, you can make this tart in a springform pan; press the dough evenly across the bottom and only about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches or 3 to 4 cm up the side of the pan). Use wax/greaseproof paper or buttered fingers to even out and press the dough tightly into the corners.

3 - Prick the crust all over with a fork and chill in the fridge until ready to bake, about 30 minutes. Set the pan on a baking sheet/tray and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. (Mine took 20 minutes so check at 20 minutes).

4 - While the crust bakes, bring the cream, milk, sugar and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Let it sit for about 2 minutes, without stirring. Starting in the middle of the pan, whisk together until the chocolate is evenly melted and the mixture is smooth and a shiny dark brown.

5 - Whisk the beaten egg into the chocolate filling and pour the filling directly into the hot crust. Decrease the oven to 300F/150C/gas mark 2 and return the tart to the oven.

6 - Bake until the filling is set, but still a little wiggly in the centre, about 15 minutes (temperatures vary from oven to oven, so the visual clue is more important than time). Set your timer for 13 minutes.

7 - If it looks mostly set at that point, test it by opening the oven door a crack and carefully jiggle the tart pan/flan tin with the edge of your oven mitt. Only the centre third should wobble.

8 - Remove the tart and cool completely on a rack at room temperature. Just before the tart cools and sets completely, sprinkle a few large flakes of smoked salt on the surface, or leave plain.

9 - Remove the tart from the pan sides and carefully transfer to a platter before serving. Let it cool just until it slices easily, and serve slightly warm, with a dollop of creme fraiche. Or cool completely, and serve by itself.

Serves 12