Chocolate Almond Tart

Chocolate and almonds are a classic combination, and this elegant chocolate almond tart is a perfect pairing of rich dark chocolate and crunchy almonds. This tart begins with a thin and flaky, all-butter pastry crust, baked in a long tart pan. A layer of sweet almond pastry filling is spread over the crust, topped with creamy dark chocolate ganache. And for texture, I sprinkled the ganache with chopped chocolate, almonds and flaky sea salt. This tart may look fancy, but it’s incredibly easy and quick to make, needing just a few hours for the ganache to chill and set before you can slice it.

You might also love this chocolate almond drip cake, chocolate truffle cake, and almond biscotti.

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Ingredients

Crust

• All-Purpose Flour + Almond Flour. The all-purpose flour gives the crust strength and structure, while the almond flour adds a nutty flavor to complement the chocolate.
• Granulated Sugar. A little sweetness.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness of the almond pastry filling.
• Unsalted Butter. Adds richness to the dough, creating crisp, flaky layers of pastry crust.
• Milk or Ice Water. Moistens the dough, binding it together.
• Egg White. While pre-baking the crust, you’ll need to brush the dough with a little egg white. This helps to “seal” the dough, keeping it crisp, even when filled with moist fillings.

Filling

• Almond Pastry Filling. This sweet almond filling is officially called “Almond Cake and Pastry Filling“. You can find it on the baking aisle of most major grocery stores.
• Dark Chocolate. Since the almond pastry filling is so sweet, you should balance the sweetness with a good quality dark chocolate, around 55-60% cacao. I love to use Chocolove Dark Chocolate for my ganache. I reserve some of the chocolate to chop and sprinkle on top of the tart.
• Heavy Whipping Cream. The cream adds richness to the ganache, for a smooth, luxurious, creamy texture.
• Chopped Almonds. To garnish the top of the chocolate almond tart.
• Flaky Finishing Salt. A flaky salt like Maldon is perfect for sprinkling on top of baked goods.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Instructions

Make the pastry dough.

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar and salt.  Scatter the butter over the flour and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into smaller chunks, about 1/4 inch in size.  Now use your fingers and smash each chunk of butter flat.
• Drizzle the milk over the flour mixture and toss to combine.  Dump the mixture out onto a clean work surface, and use your hands to gather the crumbs together.  Keep gathering and pressing the crumbs together until it comes together into a ball – this should only take a minute or two.  Use your bench scraper to scrape all the bits of dough off the work surface, if any of it sticks.
• Lightly flour your work surface, the ball of dough, and your rolling pin.  Roll the dough out, using using your bench scraper to loosen the dough from your work surface, and sprinkling more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, into a rough circle about 1/4 inch thick.  There may be a few cracks in the dough, and you should see visible chunks of butter throughout.
• Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter, and then in thirds again, so you have a neat little package of dough.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, to let the dough rest and chill.

Roll out the dough.

• Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Set your tart pan with removable bottom on the baking sheet.
• After chilling the dough for 20 minutes, it’s ready to be rolled out for your pie.  Flour your work surface again, and roll the dough out, using more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, until large enough to fit into your tart pan with a little overhang.
• Transfer the dough to the tart pan, and fit it against the bottom and up the sides of the pan, pressing gently against the sides. You don’t want to stretch or pull the dough, but allow enough slack in the dough so you can fit it snugly down into the edge of the pan.
• Use a sharp knife or scissors to trim the edge of the dough, allowing about 1/2 inch overhang. Keeping this overhang will allow for shrinkage as it bakes, and then you’ll finish trimming the dough even with the top of the pan after baking the crust.
• Freeze the dough in the pan for 20 minutes.

Bake the crust.

• Preheat the oven to 400 F.
• Spray a piece of aluminum foil lightly with non-stick spray, and fit the foil, greased side down, against the frozen crust. Fill the foil with dried beans or pie weights.
• Bake the crust, covered with the foil and dried beans, for 15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven, scoop the beans out of the foil, then gently peel the foil off the crust.
• Brush the egg white over the bottom and sides of the crust. Return the pan to the oven, and bake, uncovered, for an additional 12-15 minutes, just until the crust is baked through and starting to turn a pale golden brown.
• Remove from the oven. Immediately use a sharp knife to trim the edge of the crust so it’s perfectly even with the top of the pan. Let cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Fill the crust.

• Spoon the almond pastry filling into the baked crust and spread out into an even layer on the bottom of the crust.
• Roughly chop the chocolate and scrape into a bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons to garnish the top of the tart.
• Measure the heavy whipping cream into a saucepan, and warm gently over medium low heat, just until it’s steaming and the edges are beginning to simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, and stir with a spatula until the chocolate is melted and you have a smooth, luxurious chocolate ganache.
• Pour the ganache over the almond pastry filling. Let the tart sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator. Chill for about 2 hours, until the ganache is set and firm enough to slice.
• Remove the sides of the tart pan and place the tart on a serving plate. Decorate the top of the tart with the reserved chopped chocolate, chopped almonds, and a pinch of flaky salt.
• Leftover tart should be refrigerated in an airtight container.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use store-bought pie dough?

If you must. But homemade pie dough tastes So Much Better, and is really quite easy to make.

Is almond paste and almond pastry filling the same thing?

Almond paste and almond pastry filling are very different products, and you can find both on the baking aisle of most major grocery stores. While they’re both made from almonds and sugar, almond paste is very thick, coarse and crumbly, best for grating or crumbling over pastry dough, such as a filling for cinnamon rolls. Almond cake and pastry filling is spreadable, with a jam-like consistency, that you can spread between layers of cake, used as a filling for muffins, and of course, as the sweet almond layer in today’s chocolate almond tart.

What kind of chocolate do you use for the ganache?

Since the almond pastry filling is so sweet, you should balance the sweetness with a good quality dark chocolate, around 55-60% cacao. I love to use Chocolove Dark Chocolate for my ganache, but you can use your favorite. I reserve some of the chocolate to chop and sprinkle on top of the tart.

Will this recipe work in a 9-inch round tart pan instead of the 14-inch long tart pan?

If you don’t have a 14-inch long tart pan, you can also make this tart in a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom.

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