I love chocolate. Like more than life itself. I eat it each & every day and definitely consider it to be an essential food group of it’s own. So I’m sure you can understand my excitement in teaming up with Lily O’brien’s to create a desert inspired by their delicious chocolates
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If you’re not familiar with Lily O’brien’s, they are an Irish chocolate brand; founded by Mary Ann O’brien in her kitchen in the early 1990s and named after her daughter Lily. With a fantastic array of chocolates, finished to the most luxurious standard, it’s no surprise that Lily O’brien’s has received a number of awards over the past decade.
One of the most creative (and my favourite!) of the Lily O’brien’s range is their Chocolate Desserts Collection. As the name would suggest, the chocolates are inspired by some of the most popular of desserts. Banoffee pie, hazelnut torte, chocolate orange…
Out of all the Lily O’Brien’s Chocolate Desserts Collection, the Creme Brulee is my favourite. A lovely little milk chocolate cup, stuffed with a layer of caramel & a vanilla custard truffle, topped with a sprinkle of sugar. And it was this sweet little chocolate that inspired me to create a Creme Brulee Tart.
Like it’s chocolate predecessor, this tart consists of a chocolate casing, a custard filling and a sugared layer on top. Such a simple concept but the stuff a sweet-toothed dessert-lovers dreams are made of! The rich chocolate pastry case is the perfect bowl for the sweet custard filling. And the caramelised sugar top gives this Creme Brulee tart the crunch it craves.
Granny’s Top Tips
♥ You can easily make individual mini tarts from this recipe. Just be sure to reduce your baking times.
♥ If you don’t have a creme brulee torch, fear not. Even without the caramelised sugar top, this recipe makes a lovely custard tart.
- 100g Butter
- 200g Plain Flour
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 50g Dark Chocolate
- 1 tbsp Milk
- 2 tbsp Cold Water
- 300ml Double Cream
- 100ml Whole Milk
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract/Paste
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 100g Caster Sugar (plus extra to top with)
- In a large bowl, rub the butter and flour together until it resembles bread crumbs.
- Add the caster sugar and cocoa powder and mix to combine.
- In a small bowl, melt the dark chocolate (over a bain marie or in short bursts in the microwave). Whilst stirring the melted chocolate, gradually add the milk to create a ganache.
- Add the ganache to the dry ingredients and mix. Add the water a spoonful at a time and mix to create a stiff dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes before wrapping in cling film and setting aside in the fridge for 30 mins.
- Generously grease a 21cm tart tin with butter and pre-heat your oven to 170°c (or 150°c for fan assisted ovens or Gas Mark 3). Place a tray large enough for your tart tin to sit upon into the oven to warm up too.
- Roll your dough into a circle large enough to drape into your prepared tin with a small amount of pastry hanging over the edge. Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 minutes on top of the warmed baking tray before removing the baking beans and continuing to bake for a further 10 minutes.
- Set aside the chocolate pastry case to cool and reduce the oven to 140°c (or 120°c for fan assisted ovens or Gas Mark 1).
- In a pan, warm the cream, milk and vanilla to a simmer. In a heat-proof bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until pale, before gradually adding the warmed milk & cream over, whilst continuing to whisk.
- Pour the custard mixture into a jug and place your chocolate pastry case into the oven, again on top of the the pre-heated tray. Pour the custard mixture into the pastry case and bake for 40 minutes until the top is golden and the custard has a slight wobble.
- Trim the excess edges from the pastry. Allow your custard to cool a little before spooning with sugar and using a creme brulee torch to caramelise to a lovely golden brown.
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This recipe is in collaboration with Lily O’brien’s and I was compensated for the production of this recipe. All work and views involved are my own. See our Privacy Policy for more info.
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