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For Christmas, I wanted to bake a dessert that was at the same time good, kind of Christmasy (in the sense that it was a beautiful dessert, not just a cake – no offense meant to cakes) and simple. I didn’t have either the time nor courage to prepare a traditional Christmas log (and these things are generally so expensive to buy all done that it is ridiculous).

Being the chocoholic that I am, I decided to try a recipe that I had found in the issue of the Elle à Table I mentioned here.

Don’t let the “grand cru” part scare you. The tart is really simple to prepare. You just have to take into consideration the time for the dough, and then the tart itself, to stay in the fridge, to get ready. And also, you need excellent chocolate.

The following recipe is adapted from the recipe of Tarte au Chocolat Grand Cru of the Elle à Table #85.

For an 11″ tart , you will need:
- 6 + 1/2 tbsp butter, softened
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 + 1/2 egg
- 1 + 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 + 1/2 3.5 oz of excellent chocolate (I used 2.5, 71% cocoa, Valrhona chocolate bars, that you can easily find at Trader Joe’s)
- 7 (more) tbsp butter, diced

1. Mix together the 6 + 1/2 tbsp of butter, the almond flour, and the confectioner’s sugar.

2. Add 1 egg + 1/2 egg (to get 1/2 an egg, slightly beat one with a fork in a bowl and only add half of it to the batter).

3. Add the flour and mix until just combined.

4. Reserve the pastry for one hour in the fridge.

5. After an hour, preheat your oven to 300F.

6. Work with the pastry to create a circle to lay in a 11″ tart pan. Bake for about 20 minutes (I used ceramic pie weights). Let cool.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate filling. In a large bow, put together the chocolate and the 7 tbsp butter, diced.

8. Bring the cream to a boil and immediately but slowly pour onto the chocolate and butter. Mix until the chocolate and butter have completely melted, everything is combined and batter is shiny.

9. Pour the filling into the tart (do not let the filling cool) and reserve the tart in the fridge for about an hour, or until ready to serve.

10. You can decorate the tart with gold leaves (as suggested in the original recipe). I used little sugary Christmas tree decorations for the occasion.

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