Best Black Bottom Tart Recipes

BLACK BOTTOM TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into 2 rectangular 13 3/4-by-4 1/4-inch tart shells, letting it fall naturally into the corners and being careful not to stretch the dough. With your fingers or a rolling pin, trim dough so that it is flush with top edge of tart shells. Prick the tart shell all over with the tines of a fork. Chill until firm, at least 45 minutes.
• Line dough with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or lentils. Transfer to oven and bake until tart shells begin to color, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove the dried beans and parchment and return to the oven and bake until the tart shells become a deep golden color, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool completely on a cooling rack.
• In a heavy saucepan, dissolve 1/2 cup sugar and the cornstarch in the cold milk. Stir in the scalded milk, place the mixture over direct heat, and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler.
• Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl and stir in 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture. (This will keep the egg yolks from curdling when added to the remaining hot milk.) Pour this back into the remaining milk mixture, and cook over simmering water for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes quite thick. Remove from the heat and put 1 cup custard in a small bowl. Stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla, and set aside to cool completely. When cooled, spread evenly in the tart shell and chill until set.
• Meanwhile, soften the gelatin in the cold water and add to the remaining hot custard. (The gelatin will not dissolve properly if the custard has cooled.) Stir to combine. Fold in the rum and let the mixture cool at room temperature until it just begins to set.
• Beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and then fold the egg whites into the custard mixture. Spoon this evenly over the chocolate mixture. Chill until set.
• Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator. Using a sharp metal pastry scraper held at a 45-degree angle, scrape off a strip of chocolate from the pan; the chocolate will curl as it is scraped. Chill or freeze until the curls are firm and ready to use.
• The type of curl you get will be determined largely by the temperature of the chocolate when you remove it from the refrigerator. If it is very cold, the chocolate will splinter when scraped and give you small "thatch." If the chocolate is a little less cold, you will produce tight curls. And if the chilled chocolate approaches room temperature (or if a lightly pressed finger leaves a slight print), you will have big, loose curls or sheets of chocolate, which can be used as "bark." The type of curl you produce will also depend on how you scrape the chocolate from the sheet.
• Whip the cream until stiff and spread or pipe over the custard. Garnish as desired with chocolate thatch. Chill until ready to serve.

BLACK BOTTOM PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY TART

Steps:

• 1. For the crust, chop peanuts in food processor and reserve 1/4 cup for garnish. Add brown sugar and flour to food processor and process in long bursts.
• 2. Place mixture in a large bowl. Stir in graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and salt. Add melted butter and incorporate well. Mix first with a fork, then with hands, rubbing everything together completely to form evenly dampened crumbs (if necessary, add 1 tsp. water to the mixture to assist in pressing the crust into place).
• 3. Spread the crumb mixture evenly and loosely into a lightly buttered 9-1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides. Refrigerate crust for 10 to 15 minutes.
• 4. Place crust on center oven rack in a preheated 350-degree oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on wire rack.
• 5. For the ganache, in a small saucepan, bring heavy cream, butter, corn syrup and salt to a simmer, making sure butter is completely melted.
• 6. Place chocolate in a heat-proof mixing bowl and pour hot cream mixture over chocolate. Allow it to sit, untouched, for about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, and whisk until ganache is smooth.
• 7. Immediately pour ganache into cooled graham cracker crust, carefully tilting crust to coat the bottom and sides evenly.
• 8. Cool to room temperature; refrigerate crust for at least an hour.
• 9. For the peanut butter filling, combine cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, milk, honey and salt with an electric mixer until well mixed.
• 10. Spoon peanut butter filling over the ganache layer and smooth with an offset spatula; chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• 11. Spoon the jelly onto peanut butter layer and spread evenly (jelly may need to be warmed slightly in order to spread easily).
• 12. Sprinkle tart with reserved chopped peanuts. If desired, garnish with fruit matching jelly used, such as raspberries or strawberries.
• 13. Chill at least 1 hour. Carefully remove tart from pan before serving.

BLACK-BOTTOM KEY LIME TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In food processor, place flour, butter, powdered sugar and salt. Cover; process, using quick on-and-off motions, until dough forms a ball. Press dough firmly and evenly in bottom and up side of ungreased 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• Place chocolate chips in small bowl. In small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup whipping cream over medium heat just until hot. Pour over chocolate chips; let stand 2 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Pour into partially baked crust, spreading to edge. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.
• In medium bowl, mix condensed milk, egg yolks, lime juice, lime peel and food color with whisk until blended. Pour filling over chocolate layer.
• Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 2 hours. Cover; refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours but no longer than 2 days. Garnish with whipped cream and lime slices. Store covered in refrigerator.

CHILLED BLACK BOTTOM TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pate brisee disk into a 13-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch bottomless tart ring set on a baking sheet. Using a sharp paring knife, trim the dough flush with the rim. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork. Transfer to the freezer or refrigerator, and chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Remove baking sheet from freezer. Line tart ring with parchment paper, leaving about 3 inches overhang. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and remove weights and parchment paper. Return to oven; continue baking until crust is deep golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• In a microwave or a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate; set aside. In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the cold water; let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch; set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine milk and 1/4 cup sugar; cook over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble around the edge, about 3 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add hot milk mixture to egg mixture. Return mixture to pan; cook, stirring constantly over medium to medium-low heat until thick and just starting to boil, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Prepare an ice bath. Measure out 1/2 cup custard mixture, and place in a medium bowl; immediately whisk in gelatin mixture until smooth. Place bowl in the ice bath several seconds to let mixture set. Remove from ice bath; place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside.
• Stir remaining custard into melted chocolate, and add vanilla. Set bowl in ice bath; let cool completely, stirring occasionally. Spread mixture evenly in bottom of prepared tart shell. Refrigerate until set, at least 5 minutes.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat until peaks are stiff and glossy, 1 to 3 minutes. Whisk one-third meringue into reserved custard mixture until completely smooth. (You may need to beat the custard again at this point until smooth.) Gently but thoroughly fold remaining meringue into custard mixture. Spread over chocolate layer in tart shell. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.
• In a small bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip (Ateco #825), and pipe decoratively over custard (alternatively, spread with an offset spatula). Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.