Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine, February 2007
Serves 10
For the crust:
1 cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs, finely ground in a food processor (from a little more
than half of one 9-oz package)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp kosher salt
5 Tbl unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 (3.1 oz) disk Mexican chocolate (
this brand is easy to find in most stores), chopped
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
To make the crust:
Pre-heat the oven to 350ᵒF and arrange a rack in the middle position.
Blend the chocolate crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and salt in the electric food processor. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs are well moistened. Press the crumbs into a 9-inch diameter tart pan with a removable bottom, pressing them evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (I only had a 10-inch tart pan on hand, so I increased by 25% all the ingredients, for both the crust and the filling (multiplied each by 1 1/4) and it worked well.) Bake until set, about 20 minutes. Cook on a wire rack.
To make the filling:
Add the cream to a medium-sized saucepot and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, then add the chopped chocolates. Whisk until melted and smooth. Add the butter, one piece at a time, whisking until smooth between each addition. Whisk in the vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Pour the filling into the crust, then let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes. Then chill uncovered in the refrigerator until completely set, at least 4 hours. Can be made a day ahead.
To serve, push the tart from its bottom, to remove the side rim. Then slice into wedges. Top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream. (See recipe below.)
For the whipped cream:
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Whip the cream to soft peaks (When you stick a spoon into the cream and lift it out, a point will form then droop down after a second or two). Add sugar and vanilla and whip to firm peaks (The point formed in the cream will stand straight up and not fall over).
