EVERY year, on the second Saturday of October, this annual day celebrates South Africa’s home grown grape varietal. Numerous Pinotage stakeholders are planning exciting events, tastings, campaigns and promotions, so keep an eye on social media. Here’s Fat Bastard’s delicious pairing.
DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TART
Serves 12
Ingredients
Pastry:
- 90g icing sugar
- 25g cocoa powder
- 30g ground almonds
- 120g butter, softened
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 XL free-range egg
- 220g all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 300g high quality dark chocolate, 70%
- 350ml cream
- 50g honey
Special equipment: 24cm tart mould
To serve: Flaky sea salt and fresh seasonal berries
Method
To make the base:
- Preheat oven to 170˚C.
- Weigh icing sugar, cocoa powder and ground almonds in the bowl of a stand mixture.
- Whisk them together to combine well.
- Add the softened butter and salt. Mix on low with the paddle attachment until well combined but do not whip air into the butter.
- Add the egg and mix until combined.
- Add the flour in 3 stages. Once the flour is just incorporated, switch off the mixer. You do not want to overwork the dough.
- Flatten pastry dough into a disk and wrap with cling film. Place in the fridge to rest for one hour. (Dough can be made the night before and also can be made by hand.)
- Flour a clean work surface and remove the dough from the fridge.
- Roll out the dough into a circle a few centimetres larger than your tart mould. Gently transfer your dough to the mould by rolling the pastry up on the rolling pin and then unrolling it across the mould.
- Press the pastry dough well into the mould taking special care of the “corners” where the base and sides meet. Using a paring knife, trim off the excess dough and neaten the edges. (Tip: save cut offs and turn them into little chocolate biscuits.)
- Place the tart base in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Prick the base of the tart with a fork.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Allow the tart base to cool completely before removing the mould and placing the tart base on your chosen serving dish.
To make the filling:
- Prepare a bain marie and roughly chop the chocolate. Melt the chocolate in the bain marie, stirring occasionally. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat.
- In another saucepan heat the cream and honey.
- Pour the warm cream into the chocolate in 3 additions, stirring well in between. As you add the cream it will look like the filling has split. However, keep mixing with a spatula and it will come together homogeneously and smoothly.
- Pour the warm chocolate filling into your tart base. Transfer the tart to the fridge and allow to set.
- Once the tart has set, remove from the fridge and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Slice and serve with a pile of fresh berries.
Enjoy with a glass of luscious Fat Bastard Pinotage: Sumptuous and velvety with an abundance of ripe plums and rich dark fruit intertwined with delicious notes of chocolate and mocha, it’s the perfect accompaniment to the tart. Shop online, or at retailers nationally for around R120 a bottle.
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