Developing four new chocolate recipes for this little month of chocolate we’ve been having here on the blog has gotten me thinking a lot about the perfect chocolate dessert, and to be honest, I think that chocolate desserts are some of the hardest when it comes to creativity and innovation. If you’ve been around the blog for any amount of time, you’ve discovered that I tend to lean heavily on plants, like flowers, herbs, and fruit to create new and exciting flavor combinations, but sometimes, it feels like there are only so many things that go with chocolate. You’ve got caramel, coffee, little red fruits (strawberries, raspberries, cherries), nuts and nut butters, and mint (which is not my favorite flavor combo). On top of the fairly narrow list of greatest hits in flavor, people usually feel very strongly about their chocolate desserts. The type of person who goes to a fancy restaurant and orders a chocolate dessert usually has certain expectations. They want something rich and decadent and that somewhat screams THIS IS A CHOCOLATE DESSERT. And I don’t blame them one bit, but for recipe developers like myself, unique but classic desserts are one of those areas where we have to work a little harder. Does the world really need another molten cake recipe? And how can I make a chocolate souffle any better than it already is? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

The idea for this recipe has been floating in my mind since last summer. I wanted to create an ultra-simple dessert where texture and that alluring chocolate flavor were right in the forefront, but that used a few extras to provide some funk and depth. The crust for this tart is made like a graham cracker crust, but using sourdough bread crumbs. Stale sourdough is toasted and then broken up into coarse pieces, combined with nutty browned butter and pressed into the bottom of a tart pan to create a tangy canvas, that’s both crispy and soft—like a really great piece of toast. The chocolate cremeux filling is silky and creamy, slightly thicker than a chocolate pudding and softer than a ganache. Honestly, its just perfect. And the whole thing is finished with crunches of flaky salt. Viola.

If you were feeling like you wanted to take this tart to the next level, you could drizzle each slice with vanilla olive oil. Simply scrape the paste from 1-2 vanilla beans into a pint of good olive oil. Add in the empty vanilla bean pods, shake well and keep at room temperature. It’s great on everything from fruit to ice cream. For a riff on a chocolate cream pie, pile some freshly whipped cream on top of your finished tart and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Sourdough Chocolate Tart 

Yield: 1 9 1/2” tart 

Ingredients: 

for the sourdough crust 

1 1/2 cups sourdough breadcrumbs (for about a 1/4 sourdough boule)

2 T granulated sugar

4 T (57 g) unsalted butter 

for the chocolate cremeux: 

1/3 cup (80 g) granulated sugar 

1 cup (250 g) whole milk 

1 cup (250 g) heavy cream

3 egg yolks 

1 tsp kosher salt

6 oz dark chocolate, chopped (I used a combination of 100% and 54%)

Procedure: 

to make the sourdough crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 

2. Tear sourdough bread into large chunks and toast for 4-6 minutes. Let cool completely and then add to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until you have coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and the salt and pulse again to combine, about 30 seconds. 

3. Place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat for about 5-7 minutes, until butter is nutty and fragrant and begins to turn amber in color. Transfer butter into a heat-proof dish and let cool completely. 

4. With the food processor running, stream in browned butter and mix until combined. 

5. Pour breadcrumbs into a 9 1/2” tart pan and press firmly into a single, even layer in the bottom of the pan. 

6. Bake tart crust for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool completely. 

to make the chocolate cremeux: 

1. Place chopped chocolate in a large glass bowl and set aside. 

2. In a medium saucepan set of medium heat, combine milk and cream. In another mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt. 

3. Heat milk and cream until small bubbles begin to appear around the edges of the pot. When hot, slowly stream hot milk/cream into the sugar and egg mixture, whisking continually. When all of the cream is added to the eggs, transfer the entire mixture back to the saucepan and return to medium heat. 

4. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. 

5. Immediately pour cream sauce over chopped chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. 

6. Starting in the center of the bowl, begin to whisk vigorously until chocolate and cream are completely emulsified and smooth and then whisk for one minute more. 

7. Pour crémeux into prepared tart crust and carefully transfer to the refrigerator. Chill until set, or overnight. 

8. Sprinkle with flaky salt before serving.