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Darkest chocolate and chilli mousse tart
Serves 8 Desserts and puddings
For the pâte sucrée
- 75g butter, softened
- 75g icing sugar, sifted
- 3 egg yolks
- 1⁄2tsp vanilla extract
- 175g plain white flour
- 1⁄2tsp salt
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
For the mousse filling
- 400g good-quality plain chocolate (over 70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces
- 125g unsalted butter, cubed
- 2tsp Pasilla chilli powder
- 5 medium eggs, separated
- 125g caster sugar
- 150ml double cream, at room temperature
- 3tbsp spiced rum
To decorate
- 2-4tbsp cacao nibs
- edible gold leaf
- candied chilli shreds (see recipe, below)
- whole candied chillies (see recipe, below)
- pouring cream, to serve
Candied chilli shreds
- 250g sugar
- 3 large red chillies (not bird’s eye)
Whole candied chillies
- 450g sugar
- 20 long chillies (not bird’s eye)
You will need
- 25cm x 4cm loose-bottomed tart tin
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 (for blind baking).
To make the pastry, place the butter, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla in a food processor and blend until smooth. Sift the flour and the salt onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Shoot the flour into the food processor and blend in short bursts until just combined. Tip out onto a floured work surface and knead gently until smooth. Form into a ball, flatten and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Bring to room temperature, then roll out and line the tart tin. Bake blind. Reduce the temperature to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4.
Melt the chocolate with the butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. As soon as it has melted, remove the bowl from the heat and cool slightly for a minute or two.
Using an electric beater, whisk the yolks and sugar together until pale and creamy. Stir the cream and rum into the chocolate, then quickly fold in the egg yolk mixture.
Whisk the egg whites until just
holding soft peaks and quickly fold
into the chocolate mixture. Pour
into the pastry case and bake for
25 minutes until risen and still
a bit wobbly. Remove from the
oven, sprinkle with cacao nibs and
allow to cool – it will sink and firm
up as it cools.
To serve, decorate with candied chillies or chilli shreds, more cacao nibs and edible gold leaf. Serve at room temperature, with pouring cream.
Candied chilli shreds
SERVES 8
Dissolve the sugar in 300ml water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil for 1 minute. Remove the seeds from 3 large red chillies and cut the flesh into needle shreds. Add these to the syrup and bring to the boil. Simmer for 25 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave to soak in the syrup for 24 hours. Lift out of the syrup with a fork, drain well and arrange on non-stick baking parchment. Store in layers in an airtight box for up to 1 month.
Whole candied chillies
MAKES 20
Dissolve the sugar in 600ml water in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil for 1 minute.
Pierce each chilli near the stalk end and add to the sugar syrup. Bring back to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes until translucent and the syrup looks thick and reduced. Turn off the heat; leave to soak in the syrup for 24 hours, if possible.
Lift out of the syrup with a fork, drain well and arrange on non-stick baking parchment. Store in layers in an airtight box for up to 1 month.
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