Earl Grey Chocolate Tart

EARL GREY CHOCOLATE TART

Pastry dough
This is a delicious, easy to make dough. But if you would rather you could use Pillsbury ready made dough.

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons almond flour (you can purchase almond flour at some grocery stores. If you can't find it, just grind whole blanched almonds in a coffee grinder or food processor.)
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
pinch of salt
1 cup cake flour

1. In a mixer, beat the butter, confectioner's sugar, almond flour and the egg yolk on medium speed until just mixed.

2. Slowly add the flour, at low speed, until the dough begins to clump together (you made need more or less flour).

3. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl a press into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and begin to roll it out until it is about 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Loosely roll the dough around a rolling pin and place it into a 9 1/4 inch round tart pan. (We used a springform pan.) Make sure you press the dough into the corners. Pierce the bottom with a fork several times. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (We left the sides of the tart ragged, we liked the informal look - and besides it was easier!)

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.

Filling

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup Earl Grey tea leaves (I use decaffeinated)
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (use Callebaut/Ghiradelli-high end)
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, bring the cream to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and add the tea. Let stand for 3 minutes. Strain the cream into a bowl. Try to allow time for as much cream as possible to drip through but do not press the tea. This will result in a bitter tasting filling. Return the cream to the sauce pan and reheat to a simmer.

2. Place the finely chopped chocolate into a medium bowl. Pour the simmering cream over the chocolate and let stand for about 3 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the honey and the butter. Pour the mixture into the tart shell and refrigerate until the filling sets, about 1 hour.

3. Serve chilled. If you like you can add vanilla ice cream, or fresh whipped cream.