Dark Chocolate and Oats Tart

This eggless dark chocolate tart with a simple oats crust and a smooth ganache is unbelievably easy to make but also unfathomably delicious!

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If you’ve followed my blog for a while you’ll know that I love using oats in baking. But that wasn’t always the case. I used to think oatmeal is boring and it may make things taste bland somehow! Slowly I came to realize that as an ingredient, oats is actually one of those blank canvases that you can paint the way you like! It’s so versatile and can add so much texture and flavour to a recipe! Specially in something as basic as a chocolate tart where you want chocolate to be the predominant flavour yet need just that little bit extra.

OATS CRUST

For this tart, I made the base using ready oats flour.

Brand I recommend – Jiwa Oats Flour

You could use regular instant oats as well and grind it. To make 1 cup of oats flour, you need 1 cup of oats. Measure the oats, and put it in a processor/mixer and pulse it a few times. Oats flour has a coarse consistency yet works well in the crust without being too crumbly. Alongwith the oats flour, goes in a little bit of all-purpose flour, brown sugar (or caster sugar), a pinch of salt and a pinch of baking powder.

Oats flour for tart

COLD BUTTER

One of the key differences between a good flaky pie/tart and a hard/cracked one is COLD BUTTER. A simple enough thing yet one that many people often don’t realize! You need to work the butter into the flour and break it up into a bread crumb like texture. For that you need to use butter right out of the fridge. Just when starting to make a tart, I measure cold butter and cut it into small cubes, then place it the freezer while I mix the dry ingredient which further chills it. Then using only your finger tips, rub the butter into the flour mix and let it form grainy sand-like consistency.

Cold butter for tart

WATER

For the same reasons as above, cold water works best in bringing together the dough. While putting the butter into the freezer, I also place a small bowl of water with it or if it’s not cold enough in time, I add a cube of ice to the bowl. The tart crust doesn’t need a lot of water, butter does most of the job. Just about 2-3 tsp to bring it all together into a pillowy soft ball. But as is often the case, because the quantity of water seems so little, a lot of people make the mistake of adding too much at a go, turning the dough into a messy batter instead. The ideal thing to do is to add only a tsp at a time and begin to knead your dough. Add more water only if you feel the dough is still crumbling too much.

Oats crust for tart

While the dough does not resting time as such, if your ambient temperature is very warm, it doesn’t hurt to put it away in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to work with. Yes when making pies and tarts, the freezer is your best friend!

SHAPING

Unlike a pie dough made with regular flour, the oats flour crust cannot be rolled out. The best way to mould it into your tart tin is to press it in, starting with the sides first and then putting the base. The tin doesn’t need to be greased since there’s enough butter in the dough to take care of the sticking part! Take a little bit of the dough in your hands and start pressing on the sides with your fingers. Adjust the thickness as you go. Once the sides have lined up, press down the base and remove all the extra dough from the top. The quantity in the recipe makes a 6 inch tart or two small 4 inch tarts.

Shaping oats dough into tin

BLIND BAKING

Blind baking is the process of baking the crust prior to filling it. Typically you need to place some “weights” like beans on the base of a tart crust while baking to keep it from flat. While for this crust, you don’t have to do that, you still need to prick the base with a fork- what is called as “docking” before baking to ensure it doesn’t puff up in the oven.

Blind Baking

The tart will bake in a pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes and you’ll start to see the sides become slightly golden. Another way to know when the crust is baked is when the sides start to pull away from the tin slightly. The good thing about this dough is that there is very little shrinkage during baking. You need the let the crust cool down completely before demoulding and filling it. This crust can be made in advance and stored upto 3 days. Once it has cooled, take it out and individually wrap each crust with cling film carefully and keep it on a tray in a dry place. Or keep the crust in an airtight container in a dry and cool place.

FILLING

The filling for this tart is as simple as it gets – dark chocolate and cream. Or the magical word – chocolate ganache! The use of only two ingredients however also means that the quality of these two ingredients becomes highly essential in elevating the dessert. Fresh dairy cream like Amul or any other brand works best. For the chocolate, I recommend using a 50% or darker chocolate. I used a 54.5%. To make the ganache, you start by bringing the cream to a boil. Then you pour it over the chocolate set in a bowl, wait for a minute and then whisk it well till all the chocolate has melted. A tiny dollop of salted butter makes this ganache richer and more robust but you could skip it if you like.

Ganache for tart

You then transfer this silky smooth ganache to your tart shell and let us sit in the fridge for an hour. Because we’re using chocolate and cream in the ratio of 2:1, the ganache sets in the crust quite well to be able to cut the tart into slices, and doesn’t need any gelatin or other setting agent. You could garnish the tart with fruits, nuts, or any other topping you like. A sprinkle of sea salt also works fantastically!

Slice of Daek Chocolate Tart

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Looking for more chocolate recipes? Find them here

Dark Chocolate & Oats Tart

A nutty oats crust with a silky smooth dark chocolate ganache!
Makes: One 8-inch tart
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time45 mins

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST

  • 1+⅓ cup Oats Flour (135g)
  • ¼ cup All-purpose Flour
  • ¼ cup Sugar
  • A pinch of Salt
  • cup Cold Butter
  • 2-3 tsp Cold Water

FOR THE FILLING

  • 250g Dark Chocolate
  • 125g (½ cup) Fresh Cream
  • 2 tsp Butter

Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS

    FOR THE CRUST

    • Measure cold butter, cut it into small pieces and place it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
    • Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree C.
    • In a bowl, mix together the oats flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and baking powder.
    • Next add the cold butter cubes and using your finger tips rub it into the flour till you get a breadcrumb-like consistency.
    • Start adding cold water – one tsp at a time – and bringing the flour together into a soft pillowy dough. Do not add too much water.
    • Place the dough in the fridge for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to your tart tin. Use your fingers to line the sides first and then the base. Use a knife to trim any excess dough over the sides of the tin.
    • Dock/prick the dough at the base and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree C for 25-30 minutes or till the sides start to turn golden-brown.
    • Remove the tin and let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the ganache.

    FOR THE FILLING

    • Chop the chocolate into pieces and place in a bowl.
    • In another bowl, bring the fresh cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Don’t stir for a minute and let the cream do it’s work. After a minute, use a whisk to stir the chocolate and cream together into a silky smooth ganache. Add the butter, and whisk again. Let the ganache cool for 5-10 minutes.
    • Pour the ganache into the cooled crust. Put the tart into the fridge for atleast an hour to set. Garnish with fresh fruits, grated chocolate, nuts or anything else you wish.

    Notes

    For measurements and conversions, do refer the ready reckoner for a quick handy guide! 

    Join the Conversation

    1. Hey
      Instead of oats with what ingridents we can make the tart???please do let me know
      Thank you

      1. Hi Lisha, you could substitute the oats with whole wheat or all purpose flour in the same qty

    2. Hi Pooja,
      Is your cup size 200 or 240 ml ?
      Can we use quinoa flour instead of oats ?
      Can the filling be made with double cream/whipping cream ?

      1. Hi Divya. Cup size is 240 ml. I haven’t tried it with quinoa flour. No you’ll need fresh cream for this recipe

    3. How to measure butter 1/3 cup
      Can you tell in gms how much it is

      1. 1/3 cup is 75gms butter. For measurement conversions to grams and ml, refer the conversion guide here – Measurements Conversion Guide  

    4. Manasvi Jain says:

      What is the oven setting for this recipe?

      1. Hello Manasvi, its mentioned in the article. anything specific you did not understand?

    5. Is there any baking powder? And how much
      Coz it’s not mentioned in the ingredients section?

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