Chocolate Tiramisu Tart
This chocolate tiramisu tart is a sweet take on the classic Italian dessert loved around the world. If you love the combination of rich dark chocolate and coffee, you will love this chocolate tiramisu tart. It’s a delicious mashup between a classic tart and tiramisu. Tiramisu is one of my all time favorite desserts. It’s light, creamy, just enough boozy and just enough indulgent. I teamed up with Metro to showcase their Selections brand Dark Baking Chocolate and I thought what better way to show case it in all its glory in a rich dark chocolate ganache tart - thus the inspiration to make a tiramisu tart which combines chocolate with coffee and alcohol.
The espresso infused shortcrust:
The tart is comprised of three delicious layers. I tried to mimic the flavours of a traditional tiramisu in this tart so to start off with, the base is made with a lady finger (the hard crunchy ones) coffee shortcrust which uses instant espresso powder in it to add that much needed coffee flavour to the tart. It’s simple to make - just as easy as a graham cracker press in crust. I crushed the ladyfingers into crumbs (I used a food processor to do that) then mixed it with a little sugar, butter, espresso powder, then pressed it into the tart pan and baked for a few minutes. It gives this tart that all too familiar flavour of the coffee soaked ladyfingers only this time they make up the crisp and crumbly shortcrust base. If you can’t get your hands on ladyfingers not to worry - graham cracker crumbs will do the job just fine, any cookie crumb in fact. You can even do a chocolate wafer one if you want even more chocolate infusion into this dessert.
The rich and boozy ganache layer:
The next layer is a rich and delicious layer of boozy Marsala infused chocolate ganache. I did not skimp on the booze here you guys so what I compare it to is a very rich chocolate boozy truffle. If you feel me on that one great, but if you prefer it to be less boozy then feel free to reduce it by half or use a more mellow liqueur in place of the Marsala (which is a fortified wine) like Frangelico a hazelnut liqueur or kahlua which is a coffee based liqueur. Many other recipes call for rum in their tiramisu so that is also a good option if you don’t have Marsala. I love the deep dark chocolate against the Marsala but if you want a less intense chocolate feel free to substitute the dark chocolate for semi sweet.
The creamy Coffee Mascarpone topping:
Finally we have the cream part of the tart. In a traditional tiramisu, zabaglione (custardlike mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine) is folded into mascarpone and is the cream mixture that makes up the body of the dish. That wasn’t going to work in this tart so I opted for a delicious and light coffee mascarpone cream to top off this tart. The filling is quite rich so I wanted something light, creamy and not too sweet to add on top and this was perfect. For aesthetic purposes I piped only the center of the tart with the cream but that was just for the photograph so that you are able to see and to distinguish the layers. When I am making this for my family I slather on the mascarpone cream on thick or pipe it on thick. It’s just too good, and I could easily eat it on it’s own by the spoonful. If you needed a mascarpone substitute cream cheese will work. While you won’t get quite the same flavor from cream cheese as from mascarpone, you can successfully use it as a substitute texturally.
Top it all off with a good dusting of cocoa powder and the result is an almost no bake tart that has everything you want and love in a Tiramisu with the coffee, booze, mascarpone and chocolate flavour but with the added bonus of the crisp and delicious crust. A very delicious textural profile from the crumbly and crispy crust to the truffle-life filling and that creamy rich mascarpone topping. Hope you enjoy!
Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust
- 2 ¼ cup crushed lady fingers approx 24-26 (alternatively use graham cracker crumbs)
- 6 tbsp butter melted
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp instant espresso powder
For the ganache filling
- 400 grams Selections Dark Baking Chocolate, chopped (semi-sweet for a sweeter ganache)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup Marsala or kahlua (reduce if you would like it less boozy)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Coffee Mascarpone topping
- 1 cup mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- ¼ – ⅓ cup cocoa powder, for dusting
Directions
For the crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Place the lady fingers in a food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Place into a medium bowl and stir in the instant espresso powder, sugar and then the melted butter.
- Stir well until fully incorporated and then transfer to a 9 inch round or 13x30 rectangular baking pan with removable bottom.
- Firmly and evenly press the crumbs into the base and up the sides of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven and allow to cool while making ganache filling.
For the ganache
- Place chopped chocolate, cream, vanilla, and Marsala into a large microwave safe bowl, stir and microwave for 20 seconds at a time mixing each time until smooth.
- Pour over prepared tart and chill for 1-2 hours or until the filling is set or firms up enough to slice.
For the mascarpone topping
- Place mascarpone in large bowl and beat with mixer for just a few seconds to soften. Then mix in the sugar, espresso powder and drizzle in the cream in a slow stream and vanilla while mixing.
- Continue mixing on medium speed just until firm peaks form and can hold its shape. Do not over mix or it will get grainy.
- Pipe the mascarpone topping over ganache with a pastry bag or just spoon it over and smooth over in one even layer.
- Finish it off with a light dusting of cocoa powder. Slice and enjoy.
