Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart

This rich Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart is an elegant and delicious dessert.  Just imagine a thick silky ganache made from simple ingredients like cream, butter, and divinely rich chocolate sitting atop a flaky buttery tart shell. Are you drooling yet? Oh, I forgot the dollops of whipped cream on top for even more lusciousness.  

If you are wanting to make a dessert for your special someone, this tart is perfect for Valentine’s Day, because who doesn’t love chocolate and little candy hearts? Everyone will think you bought this tart from a pastry shop, but this beauty is easy enough to make at home.

Scroll on down for more ways to serve this tart besides Valentine’s Day.

Before we get started I want you to know, this recipe is not hard to make. With a simple shortcrust dough and the four-ingredient ganache, this dessert comes together with little effort. The biggest requirement for this tart is giving the dough and ganache time to chill.

My chocolate recommendations

Since this dessert is all about chocolate make sure you are using the best chocolate you can find. My suggestions are Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chips,  Guittard Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Wafers, or Callebaut Dark Chocolate Callets. You can use the wafers or they sometimes call the chocolate callets which are more like chocolate morsels.  

 

Ingredients

For the Shortcrust Dough

• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Egg Yolk
• Butter
• Cream
• Water
• Vanilla

For the Chocolate Ganache

• Chocolate – use a good quality dark chocolate that is in wafers or coarsely chopped solid chocolate
• Cream
• Butter – room temperature and cubed
• Vanilla

How to make a shortcrust dough

First things first for making this tart is preparing the shortcrust tart dough. The recipe I use is made in the stand mixer and comes together quickly. Once the dough is made you can roll it and fit it into the tart pan.  Just make sure to chill the dough before baking.

When making a tart you need to use a tart pan with a removable bottom which allows you to remove the tart by pushing up from the bottom after baking. I like this 9.5″  tart pan, it’s heavy-duty steel and does not warp from the heat.

I have a whole post with the shortcrust tart dough recipe and how to blind bake the tart crust. There you will find all the information you need to make a golden brown tart shell just like this one. 

What is Ganache, it sounds kind of fancy, doesn’t it?

Ganache is a French term and is made with two basic ingredients chocolate and cream that are melted together and become silky-smooth.  Depending on how you are using the ganache, other ingredients can be added to enhance the flavor and consistency, such as flavorings, butter, or corn syrup.

While the ganache is still melted it can be poured on top of cakes or drizzled on desserts. You can whip the melted ganache which will turn it into a fluffy mousse-like texture that is perfect for fillings or icing cakes. Use ganache as a filling for pies and tarts, or as a center for chocolate truffles.  So many chocolate possibilities.

How to make Chocolate Ganache

The hardest part about making the ganache is heating the cream, and that really is not hard. 

Step 1. Add the chocolate wafers or the chopped chocolate to a large bowl. If you do decide to chop a chocolate bar, make sure it is chopped to about the size of a nickel, or the size of the chocolate wafers shown in the bowl.  

Step 2. Have room temperature butter ready.

Step 3. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it just starts to boil. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds.

Step 4. After 30 seconds stir the cream and chocolate and start adding about a tablespoon of butter to the chocolate.  Keep adding the butter and stirring until the butter is completely melted. 

If you add all the butter at once it will cool the cream/chocolate mixture too quickly, so add it in slowly.

If by chance the chocolate and butter stop melting just pop the bowl in the microwave for 25-seconds and stir again.

Step 5. Place the premade tart shell that is still in the tart pan on a baking sheet or a tray. Once the ganache is made, pour it into the cooled baked shortcrust shell and chill for an hour or until the ganache is firm.

Beautiful shiny ganache

Adding a sweet whipped cream topping

Step 6. Pour the whipping cream into a large bowl and whip until stiff peaks form.  

Adding a whipped cream topping looks so pretty and gives a nice creamy sweetness against the dark chocolate. Piping rosettes on top is easy with a 16' pastry bag and a 2D piping tip.  Just fill the bag with the whipped cream and pipe rosettes. 

You can make pretty decorative chocolate pieces using a candy mold like this Fleur de lis mold to set on top of the rosettes that will add some extra bling to your tart.  Just melt some chocolate in the microwave and fill the mold, set in the fridge until set, and pop out of the molds.

You could even use colored candy melts to make these decorative pieces. Maybe use red and make hearts. 

What if you don’t have a pastry bag, that’s ok, even if you do or you just don’t want to get it out,  simply spoon some dollops of whipped cream on top or even spread the whipped cream over the entire tart.  Whatever you do it will be delicious.

This tart is a chocolate lovers’ dream dessert and perfect for those of us on a chocolate diet.  I should know!

Make sure to Pin for Later! (when you are craving chocolate)

Other One Hot Oven chocolate treats

Brownies with Peanut Butter Cup are rich and chewy with the classic pairing of chocolate and peanut butter, and the best part is they are made with a box brownie mix.  This is a great kid-friendly recipe to get kids in the kitchen that love to bake.

This Chocolate Torte has six layers of chocolate, I’m not kidding, and this cake is delectable.

My husband’s favorite Chocolate Beer Cake made with stout beer. It’s rich and very chocolatey. We make these every year for his birthday, and sometimes just for no reason because he likes this cake so much.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Muffins have the classic flavors that everyone loves, chocolate, and peanut butter. This muffin has because a family favorite and gets made a lot.

Chocolate Cookies with double the chocolate, what more can I say, these rich and chewy cookies are hard to resist.

One Hot Oven tart recipes

Strawberry Curd Tarts are made with a simple tart shell and filled with sweet and creamy strawberry curd made from fresh strawberries.

Pecan Tassies are bite-sized tarts that taste just like pecan pie. The easy cream cheese tart dough is filled with a caramel pecan filling that all bakes up golden brown. These are always on my holiday brunch table.

Jelly Roll Pie Tarts are simply pie dough that is spread with your favorite jelly and rolled up, sliced, and baked. These jelly roll-ups are seriously addictive.  You will want to just make pie dough so you make these tarts.

When peaches are in season this Peach Tart with Almonds and Vanilla Bean makes a delicious dessert that is super easy to make. The almond filling is incredible, and the fresh peaches are covered with vanilla bean seeds for a flavor combo that you will love.

Looking for some Valentine’s Day Movie and Food Idea’s?  This delicious tart is included along with other great menu items.

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Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? Contact me here, and I’ll be happy to help!