Tartlet Sablée au Chocolat
TSLL's adaptation of David Lebovitz adaptation of French chef Bernard Pacaud's recipe as found in his cookbook named after his restaurant L’Ambroisie: Place des Vosges à Paris.
Equipment
- 8 4" tart rings Choose the diameter you prefer. Removal bottom tart pans work as well.
Ingredients
Sablée Dough
- 100 g unsalted butter, high quality (3 1/2 oz) room temperature, roughly chopped
- 75 g sugar (6 Tbsp)
- pinch fleur de sel
- 1 egg large room temperature
- 170 g flour (1 cup, 3 Tbsp) Bob's Redmill Pastry Flour
Chocolate Filling
- 300 g bittersweet dark chocolate (70% cacao at least). 10.5 oz find high quality chocolate, I use Scharffen Berger
- 200 g unsalted butter, rough pieces (7 oz)
- 60 g sugar (5 Tbsp)
- 2 eggs large room temperature
- 4 egg yolks large room temperature
Instructions
Dough/Pastry Crust
- Combine until almost smooth and all combined the butter, sugar and salt at a low-medium speed in a stand mixer or in a mixing bowl with a hand-mixer. Add the egg and combine.
- Begin to slowly add the flour with the mixer at a slow speed. Once combined, remove the dough that should be a solid ball of dough. Flatten to a disk shape and wrap in plastic wrap, placing into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Depending upon the size of your tart rings/pans (I used 4" diameter rings), cut the dough into as many pieces of dough as you have tart pans/rings. Underestimate (I began with four separate pieces, and ended up with eight) as you will simply combine all of the leftover dough to roll out again for an additional tart.
- Roll out each piece of dough on a floured and sugared surface until 1 1/2" wider in diameter than your tart ring/pan. Keep fairly then, but thick enough to be pliable. When rolled out to the width and thickness you prefer, place over the top of the tart ring and gently, nudge down into the sides. Roll your rolling pin over the top to remove the excess dough. Continue this process until all tart rings/ pans are full. Place finished tart dough in the rings on top of a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place all pans/rings of dough into the freezer for 30 minutes to chill. You can chill for a longer period of time, but if doing so, wrap with plastic wrap, otherwise, you do not need to.
- Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit (190 Celsius). Place parchment paper on top of all of the tart dough rings/pans and then pour in beans or pie weights to keep the dough in place. Bake for about 12 minutes (check from time to time). A full size tart crust would bake for 20 minutes. You are looking for the bottom of each tart crust to look cooked so the sides stay up on their own. Remove the parchment and beans/weights and cook for about 5 minutes more. You don't want to over bake the tart sides, as the tart crust will bake one more time with the filling.
- Remove from the oven once done baking and set aside to cool. Keep the rings/pan in place. You are not quite done yet. :)
The Chocolate Filling
- Reduce the heat of the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
- Make the filling while the dough is baking if you can, but you can do this also when the crusts are cooling.
- Using a double boiler or simply a sauce pan with about 1-2 inches of water, in the latter scenario place on top of the sauce pan a mixing bowl that can nest into the sauce pan. Place the chocolate and butter and turn the burner to medium heat so the water in the sauce pan begins to simmer. Stir with a spatula the two ingredients until they are combined. You should see a beautiful chocolate that shines brilliantly. Don't over cook, just until combined. You can even remove from the heat once nearly all of the chocolate has melted as the residual heat will continue to melt the chocolate until it is smooth.
- In a mixing bowl with a hand mixer at high speed mix the egg, egg yolks and sugar until it has the consistency of mousse and is quite thick. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
- Gently fold in the egg mixture into the chocolate. Add a little bit at a time. This does not have to be entirely combined, just until any glaringly obvious streaks are visible as you want to keep as much air as possible in the mixture.
- Pour the chocolate filling into each tart shell, as close to the top of the crust as you would like as it will not grow or rise, but rather simply set when in the oven. My 4" tart rings baked for 7 minutes (the large tart pan would bake for 12 minutes). David Lebovitz advises to err on the side of underbaking and I absolutely agree. The center will still move, but also be somewhat set. This is the perfect combination.
- Before removing the rings or the tart pan, let the tarts cool completely. Once cooled and pans removed, add chocolate shavings to the top of your tarts and if serving later that day, leave out at room temperature (you may want to cover them with plastic wrap or something similar). If you will be serving them the next day, place in the refrigerator, but be sure to remove 1-2 hours before serving so that the crust is not too hard.
- Serving on its own is like eating a delicious, decadent chocolate cookie - the crunch of the sablée, the creaminess of the chocolate - so good. However don't hesitate to add a vanilla gelato or ice cream or Chantilly cream.
