Chocolate Gingerbread Tart

This tart has a gingerbread pastry crust and a silky chocolate ginger filling perfect for a Christmas Dessert!

Christmas is only days away as I write this and I could not be more excited. I think I've watched all the films, including the wonderfully cheesy Hallmark movies, I've eaten a lot of chocolate (and will continue to) and sang every Christmas song. It's my task this year to make the Christmas desserts and this tart is definitely on my list. Everyone in my family loves gingerbread and adding some ginger to my go-to pastry crust worked wonders. There is also ginger in the chocolate filling too, to add even more warmth to this glorious tart. What I like most about this tart though is it is very simple to make and if you're extra prepared for Christmas Day already, once you make it, you can leave it in the fridge till you're ready to dig in. I think I'll serve mine with some ice-cream, though I reckon cream would go nicely too. It's optional to add any of the decorations, but might I suggest if you've already been doing some festive baking, then you might make your own gingerbread men to sit on top - I have a great Gingerbread men recipe to follow. I hope you enjoy making this festive tart, it's a real crowd please and nice to have something a little different to Christmas pudding or profiteroles!

If you love chocolate and gingerbread....

Check out my other recipes for more inspiration!

• Gingerbread Blondies
• Gingerbread Brownies
• Gingerbread Cheesecake

Recipe

Prep: 1 hour 30 minutes + chilling time 4 hours

Cook: 14 minutes

Serves: 10-12

Notes:

• I've used a mixture of milk and dark chocolate to give a balance of flavours - personally I thought all milk would be too sweet and all dark too bitter. If you want to use all milk or all dark give it a try.
• I like the mini gingerbread men from McVities as they are accidentally vegan but you can use any mini ginbgerbread men or even make your own.
• I recommend bringing the tart to room temperature before serving to allow the crust to warm up as it can be hard to slice. 
• If the dough is too hard to roll out, bring to room temperature before rolling otherwise it could crack. 

Ingredients

Base

• 200g plain flour
• 80g butter
• 70g treacle
• 55g light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2g salt

Filling

• 250ml plant double cream
• 125g milk chocolate
• 125g dark chocolate
• 40g butter cubed at room temperature
• 2 tsp ground ginger

Toppings

• Gingerbread men
• Sprinkles
• Melted milk chocolate

Method

1. Grease a 9-inch loose base fluted tart dish with butter the set aside.
2. Make the base first. In a medium saucepan, add the butter, light brown sugar and treacle and place onto the hob over medium heat and melt together. Stir to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon.
4. Pour in the melted mixture and stir to combine.
5. Spoon the dough on a sheet of baking paper and press the dough to flatten it slightly lower (this will make it easier to roll out once chilled). Then top with another piece of baking paper and place in the fridge to firm for about 30 minutes.
6. Remove the dough from the fridge. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll the dough out big enough to fit inside the tart dish and up the sides. 
7. Roll the dough up in the rolling pin then unravel it into the tart dish gently.
8. Press the dough into the dish making sure it fits into the grooves, then trim the top off. You can use any excess to fill any places of the base that look thinner, just press and blend the dough into itself. 
9. Prick the base with a fork all over then place back in the fridge for 1 hour.
10. Preheat the oven to 170℃ and bake the base for about 14 minutes until golden brown. 
11. Once baked, leave to cool completely and leave the base in the tin.
12. Make the filling. In a large bowl, heat the cream and chocolate together in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds till melted.
13. Add in the butter and ginger and stir till the butter is melted. You can place the mixture back in the microwave for 10-20 seconds if the butter isn't melting but no more as it might split.
14. Pour the filling onto the base, tiling the dish so that it spreads out evenly. Decorate with the gingerbread men and sprinkles whilst it is still wet.
15. Place in the fridge to set for a minimum of 4 hours.
16. Remove and drizzle on the melted chocolate and more sprinkles then gently remove from the tart dish.
17. Serve immediately or place in the fridge till ready to serve.
18. This tart will keep for up to 4 days stored in the fridge. Enjoy!

Christina

xx