dark chocolate tart with gingersnap crust
And this is the perfect example. Each year, I make two desserts for each family and I take requests. This year, both asked for chocolate and that brought me to this recipe I’ve had bookmarked forever which is so easy, it almost felt like cheating. What would Thanksgiving be if I wasn’t tired from totally miscalculating how long it would take to cook everything on Wednesday night and pulling pies and cheesecakes out of the oven at 1 a.m.? Could I break with such glowy traditions?
You bet I could.
One year ago: Rugelach Pinwheels
Two years ago: Salted Chocolate Caramels, Zucchini, Ham, Basil and Ricotta Fritters
Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust
Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2007
The tart has a shiny, almost crackly top light a brownie and an interior that is exactly like a truffle, which is to say that if you don’t like your chocolate desserts intense — like flourless chocolate cake or pot de creme-level intense — this is definitely not the tart for you. My family was in the former camp, nibbling at half-slices and pushing them away. But Alex’s family wanted seconds. Guess what they’re getting again next year?
The original recipe calls for an ingredient I loathe — candied ginger. If that’s your thing, by all means, go for it. Instead, I made this the way I saw fit, with a couple pinches of cinnamon and salted butter in the crust, and it came out exactly as I’d hoped.
Makes 10 servings
Crust:
8 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies), coarsely broken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted
Filling:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Softly whipped cream, for serving
For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind gingersnap cookies in processor (yielding 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups). Add melted butter and process until moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on rimmed baking sheet.
For filling:
Combine finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and heavy whipping cream in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk egg yolks, egg, sugar, flour, ground black pepper, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Very gradually whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until smooth and blended. Pour chocolate filling into crust.
Bake chocolate tart until filling puffs slightly at edges and center is softly set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool tart in pan 20 minutes. Gently remove tart pan sides and cool tart completely.
Cut tart into thin wedges and serve with softly whipped cream. I’d keep it unsweetened, but that’s just personal taste.
Do ahead: Chocolate tart can be made 1 day ahead. Cover tart and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.
This looks so good. Anything with ginger and chocolate has to be fabulous.
LOVE ginger! Would have never thought to put it in with chocolate so I’m excited to try this. And you’re right, it does look really easy.
Thank you for posting the recipe to this. I confess that when I saw the pics up on Thanksgiving I spent a little while trying to find it in the archives. It looked so delicious and tempting that I was up to the task of attempting it at 1 a.m. :)
Deb, how do you get the inside of your crust so even in thickness and simply professional-looking? It’s beautiful!
Hate ginger – your version looks so much better!
Yum. But I think I would prefer a graham cracker crust. Is that blasphemy?
Ginger snaps are my FAVORITE, this looks amazing!
Deb is there an egg substitute I can use instead of the egg yokes (maybe just for one of the yokes) My husband is ill and on a restricted diet but he loves dark chocolate cake and this would make his day
I use a measuring cup to press the crumb crust in firmly, and create sturdier walls.
Pam — I am at a loss. I have only made this as you see above.
Hi Deb,
I came across your blog halfway through last year when I was looking for a recipe for blondies. I became a regular reader this year, and this is the first time I’ve commented…so, hi. I’ve got a heap of questions to ask you about various recipes off this site but I think I’ll stop this comment from becoming longer than it is going to be and save them for later. Anyway, here in Australia, where I’m from, we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving…but I think I just might make this anyway…eventually. I’ve got a batch of the pumpkin swirl brownies in the oven right now, using tofu instead of eggs.
By the way, Pam, I try to stay egg free, and I don’t use eggs in any of my baking. I usually use a fantastic vegan egg replacer based on starch, but for things like brownies, and probably this tart’s filling, the egg replacer doesn’t work well at all- I always end up with hard, burnt chocolate. However – and this might sound gross – tofu works excellently. You can use 1/4 cup of pureed silken tofu to replace a whole egg in a recipe, and I think for an egg yolk, you should substitute 1/8 cup of pureed tofu. I know it sounds weird, but, really, it usually works great. There are other ways to replace egg yolks with flaxseed or lecithin granules, just Google it.
I am drooling. Must find an excuse to make this!
This is brilliant! I love ginger snaps!
I am suck a sucker for anything dark chocolate – will definitely give this one a whirl!
This looks sooo delicious, but here where I live (Serbia), we don’t have gingersnap cookies. I now it’s not a problem to substitute with any other tipe, but I just love the taste of ginger. What can I do?
I would definitely be wanting seconds, this looks amazing, like dark chocolate coated gingersnaps in tart form.
This is a defenite ‘must make’ for my chocoholic husband. Plus it is easy which is even better for me!
Ginger snaps are one of my favorite gluten-free cookies to use for pie crusts and your filling only calls for 1 tablespoon of flour so this is such an easy recipe to tweak to make gluten-free. Thanks for the inspiration. This looks to be a Christmas Eve show stopper! :-)
Melissa
Looks fabulous.
Wondering what the purpose of the pepper is in the filling.
Sounds kind of suspicious to me.
Wanted to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed every moment of NaBloPoMo. Everyday was a new journey and I loved the ride. My thighs have expanded just from looking at the photos.
No breaks from the kitchen for me either – I love baking too much!! :-)
Spectacular tart, Deb!!
AAAAH that tart looks h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y! How inspiring. Tanx.
wow this looks delicious yummy
Fantastic blog – I have been reading your blog for over a year now, but this is my first comment. I made this tart for Christmas last year and it was a big hit!! My family is Swedish so we always have a ton of Gingersnaps (Peppakakors – Swedish Wish Cookies) left over at the holidays. And this is a fantastic way to use them up! While I’m posting – I made the Martha’s Mac and Cheese last night after seeing your beautiful photographs – OMG! Divine Cheese-iness! All the best to you and thanks for a very enjoyable read.
I agree. I’m not a fan of candied ginger either. There’s something about the texture that just doesn’t work right in baking for me.
I love candied ginger and ginger of any kind!!!
Debra, PLEASE post some salads this week. I can’t take it anymore.
I now want to make THIS tart. I already made 3 of your desserts in the past month and I have to give the stuff away, it’s too GOOD to keep in the house!
Please make me a fish dish w/ a nice salad this week. I am begging you.
Happy Sunday.
Stacey Snacks
Wah, it looks gorgeous!
I always use gingersnaps for my pumpkin cheesecake. I love serving this one after a big hearty winter meal. I’m curious. I noticed that you didn’t have an egg salad recipe in your recipe index. Did I pass right over it?
i made this for thanksgiving as well and it was wonderful! everyone loved the crust. i put ground ginger into the filling instead of cinnamon but i bet the cinnamon was even more delicious.
Ooooo….Dark Chocolate! Say no more. Sniff, sniff….I suppose NaBloPoMo must come to an end some time. I’ll just have to drown my sorrow in dark chocolate.
I think this right here will necessitate me finally giving in and buying a tart pan.
Pam – saw your comment about egg substitution above…my son has an egg allergy and I’ve had great luck with yogurt or pureed fruit as substitutes. They make powdered egg substitute which works pretty well and is necessary if the recipe calls for numerous eggs to provide leavening. A recipe like this one is using the yolks to bind ingredients together and I think 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt would work just fine. Depending on the recipe you can also try pureed apples, pumpkin or sweet potato and get great results too. Good luck!
Ginger and chocolate? This filling sounds really wonderful, but I just can’t imagine it with ginger in the filling or even in a gingersnap crust. It’s a contrast of flavors to be sure! It sure looks luscious!
OMG this looks so delicious! Thank you so much! Could I substitute homade gingersnaps? the permade make me ill.
Deb, these look delicious as always. great job and they do seem fairly easy.
Thanks for sharing
zesty
i bet this would be good in a miniature, with a high crust-to-rich-filling ratio. yum.
when i saw the pictures of this dessert earlier in the week, i couldn’t wait to see if you would share the recipe. my roommate and i both love dark chocolate, and this version with cinnamon and gingersnaps sounds amazing. some other dessert may have to be bumped to after christmas
This looks fabulous! I LOVE the combination of gingersnap and chocolate and can’t wait to try this one. Today I’m trying a chocolate cake recipe that you posted way back and so far it’s turning out fabulously!
Keep the good recipes and pictures coming…I love your blog!
Wow this just made me drool on the computer. This tart is something I would love rich and delicious. Yum this looks likea must make! Your family is quite luckey
This is exactly the kind of chocolate dessert I love. All chocolate, and nothing cake-y getting in the way. I love candied ginger too, so I’ll definitely be trying this without omitting the ginger.
Oh, yum. I think I will try this filling with the Dorie no-shrink crust. I’m not a fan of ginger with chocolate. I think that will work, no?
This looks perfect! I’m definitely added to the “to make soon” list :)
Such a delicious combination- the gingersnaps and chocolate, I love it!
That looks heavenly and I would bet some powdered ginger in the filling would add a nice spice to cut some of the chocolate richness if the eaters are somewhat wimpy about intense chocolaty-ness. Also, anything do-ahead is a big plus.
Man, this looks simply scrumptious!! I love gingersnaps!
Hi Deb, my sister turned me on to your site and I love it! I was wondering if you have ever brined a turkey? Thinking of trying it, I hear it makes a wonderful, moist bird.
I was trolling internet recipe sites all day today looking for a Mayan or Mexican chocolate type recipe. I tried some Haagen Dazs Mayan Chocolate ice cream once, it’s chocolate with a smooth but significant cinnamon flavor, and I haven’t been able to find it again or stop dreaming of it.
Does this have a good kick to it? Or are there any recipes that you’ve tried that are a great chocolate / cinnamon combo?
I love your blog! It is my morning pleasure to visit smitten kitchen when I turn on my PC each morning. Thank you so much! Deb, would you do me a favor? When I look at your beautiful cakes, pies and other foods, I always want to know how it looks inside. It really gives me a better idea of how they are baked and cooked when you have a picture of a piece or a serving. Especially this time because you talk about the interior of the cake. I wanna see it!
There aren’t always pictures of the insides of cakes and pies because I don’t generally like to bust out the camera at restaurants, dinner parties or in this case, Thanksgiving dinners for dozens. And I occasionally like some time off from photographing things. ;)
Sounds wonderful! I particularly like the healthy dose of black pepper; I bet that it gives things a nice zing.
I’ve been craving lebkuchen like crazy lately. We always had the chocolate coated ones. This flavor combo looks like it might do the trick.
Will keep this recipe on hand for the holidays!
Deb- I actually did bust out the camera at Thaksgiving to photograph a pie, and I felt kinda guilty about it, even though I have a small point and shoot. I totally know how you feel! Another reason I don’t find myself taking pictures is that the pie/cake is often being served in a restaurant/home with not-so-great lighting to capture the detail. You have so many photographs of the process that I think more than makes up for it.
This looks fabulous! Your daily posts are making my days! I was just eating these same gingersnaps yesterday (having finished the delicious pumpkin pie per the recipe you posted) and was thinking that I’d like to make something with the gingersnaps. Thanks for another new recipe to try!
I used a gingersnap crust for the pumpkin pie this year and I’ll never go back. I’m usually not a pie for breakfast person, but oh yes.
I’m going to follow your lead on how to press an even crust, mine was rather bulky in the bend.
That looks fantastic! I love rich chocolate and I love gingersnaps! I will definitely have to try this.
I love crystalized ginger. How much and where does it go?
I just love desserts that look spectacular but are super simple. This looks delicious- I actually really like candied ginger but I think you made a good call eliminating it from this recipe. Nice, creamy and smooth! Very lovely.
jwg, click on the link to see the original recipe, but in any case, two tablespoons of crystallized ginger was sprinkled on top.
This looks so scrumptious I want to run to the store right now to buy gingersnaps. Your photography is so incredible I feel like I could reach out and touch the food- if only it were so!
oh, i love a good chocolate tart. and gingerbread is one of my favorite flavors to indulge in during the holiday season-in other words, this is definitely being added to my recipe list!
yum! i love cheesecake-y bases.
So I made this for a dinner party we were hosting tonight (a potluck!) And it turned out awesome. I don’t own a tart pan so a glass pie dish was its vessel. Also I used a mixture of choclates (because thats what I had on hand) ranging from 65% to 85% cacoa. It came out great, and was a huge hit.
I can’t wait to have a reason to make it again
oh boy, i just took this out of the oven and it looks great! but i have to say, i don’t think it’s for beginner bakers. i have chocolate all over the kitchen floor and my crust looks, let’s say, a little more rustic than yours as i am deathly afraid of the food processor and ended up using a meat tenderizer to pulverize the ginger snaps in a freezer bag.
Made this on the weekend for visiting friends and they were floored! Still cutting a thin wedge every time I open the fridge and now have incriminating crumb face.
Do you think you’ll be posting any Christmassy recipes – I’m attempting my first ever winter Christmas dinner and I’m freaking out!
I made this tonight and it was AWESOME. Very rich, but right up our alley. I did make one major mistake, however, and followed the ‘half a stick’ of butter rather than actually looking at my sticks to see how they were measured out. Turns out I’ve got these freakazoid mega-sticks where half a stick is actually 1/2 cup. Thats what I get for not paying attention. No matter, though, it was STILL amazing, and much of the excess butter melted out of the pan during baking.
***Desperately in need of crust assistance***
I made this for a party this past weekend and could not remove the tart ring because the crust began to crumble. : ( (though the tart looked stunning even though it remained in it’s metallic mold the entire evening.) I was worried that i had misread the called for butter amount, but i didn’t- 1/4 cup was called for and 1/4 cup was added. Does any one have any tips for me? Has anyone experienced this? I want to make this again. ASAP. Thank you :)
Hi Amy — So sorry I can’t be more help. I haven’t made a crumb crust before with a tart ring. Is it possible the crumbs were either spread too thin or not pressed in hard enough?
Any thoughts on using semisweet chocolate?
Thanks Deb,
My guess is that the crumbs were not processed fine enough and perhaps I could have used a tad more butter.(?) They were definitely not spread too thin but maybe could have been pressed in harder. I used a drinking glass to build up my crust.
It’s not the end of the world though- i guess i will just have make another! and another… and another… until i get it right : )
Happy Holidays.
Dragana: I don’t think we have ginger cookies in Croatia neither, but I plan to make this today using Speculaas cookies, adding some ginger. IIRC, it’s a Croatian product, but could be available in Serbia either. Pozdrav iz Zagreba!
Ivana: Thanks! We have Speculaas here, also :) I’m waiting for your impressions, but I’m sure it will be perfect!
Thanks for this fabulously decadent recipe! I swapped the ginger cookies for graham crackers — I wasn’t sure how my guests would feel about the gingerbread. But it came out beautifully! Plus, it was fast and really easy to make. The cinnamon and pepper give the chocolate (I used Ghiradelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chips) a subtle but pleasant kick. Deb, you’re the best!
Thanks for sharing your version of this recipe. I made this in a 9in springform pan (I don’t have a fluted tart pan), and with a careful eye towards not taking the crust too far up the side, it worked beautifully! I was unprepared for the richness of the chocolate filling (esp. after a big dinner), but I’ll surely be making this again for my chocolate-loving pals.
I just wanted to let you know that this tart came out PERFECTLY. It couldn’t have been easier, and it was truly picture perfect. I made it shortly after Christmas for my parents and my boyfriend’s parents, and I think they were all impressed. Next time I’ll try it with the ginger, just because I hear good things about how ginger and dark chocolate mix.
I made this yesterday and it was glorious….I used a combination of Green & Blacks cooking chocolate, G&B’s milk chocolate and standard supermarket plain/dark chocolate. I didn’t have any whipping cream so I used creme fraiche, which worked perfectly (although this did give a thicker raw filling that it would with cream). I used Morrison’s Ginger Fingers biscuits for the crust, which wasn’t as thick as the one in the photo but still held together quite well. It was wonderful served just warm, and still wonderful cold today as part of a picnic lunch. Definitely a keeper.
this is the recipe that keeps being at the top of my to make list.i love gingersnaps and chocolate and the idea of them combined really got me excited.
nothing could compare to my first bites of it……I’ve gone to heaven.WOW!!! I wanted to eat it all in one sitting but didn’t.
thank you for bringing this delight to me. i will make it again I’m sure.
i made this on saturday and it was amazing!! i forgot to add the flour and it turned out just fine! so fantastically wonderful. thanks for sharing!
Just made this. Delicious! I accidentally bought chocolate with almonds in it but it was a fabulous mistake- it added a nutty crunch to the dense dark chocolate mass. I will definitely be making this again.
I made this tonight for Valentine’s dinner…yummy good :-)
It is very rich so make it when you are having others over – the tart can feed 10. I just loved the combo of dark chocolate and gingersnaps. I probably added a smidge more cinnamon but I do that all the time whenever cinnamon is called for cause I like it!
Thanks Deb for a great new recipe to add to my repertoire.
This recipe is awesome, dark, silky chocolate with a soft spicy crust and small bites of candied ginger peppered throughout. I’ve made it twice now and both times it has come out beautifully. I recommend preparing it a day early because I think that it’s much better the day after. Thanks!
Very excited to try! Does anyone have tricks to filling 11.5″ tart pans with recipes calling for 9″ pans? I accidentally bought a monster.. Thanks!!