Chocolate Tart - Deep, Dark, and Delicious

If you like chocolate, you're going to love this. It's pretty straightforward to make, so long as you follow the instructions. Do use icing sugar (confectionery sugar) in the pastry as it makes the texture crisper.

Serving Size: 6-8 portions

Effort Level: Some effort

Shelf Life: 2 days in fridge

Ingredients:

For the pastry

160g unsalted butter - room temperature
60g icing sugar
200g plain flour
For the filling
200g dark chocolate 70% cocoa
75ml skimmed milk
125ml double cream
1 egg lightly beaten

Equipment:

Hand held electric whisk
2 mixing bowls
20cm flan tin
Tin foil and cling film
Rolling pin
Small whisk
Any kind of dried baking beans for pie crust

Here's What You Do:

Begin by making the pastry. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl (icing sugar makes a crisper pastry). Add the softened butter and beat with a hand held electric whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy. Sift the flour onto the mixture and bring everything together with a spatula until it forms a ball - no need to add any liquid as the butter will bind the pastry together. Wrap the pastry dough in cling film and refrigerate for at least half an hour to chill. When you're ready to bake the pastry case, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Enjoy These Yummy Chocolate Drinks

Chocoholics rejoice! We have more recipes for the Chocoholics out there to enjoy, especially this summer! You can drink your chocolate with these delicious beverage recipes! Chocolate Mint Drink is chilled and vanilla ice cream added just before serving for a cool, frothy drink. And who wouldn't enjoy a Classic Old-Fashion Chocolate Shake? Try these yummy old-fashion beverages and go back in thought to the days of the popular Malt Shops and drugstores with soda fountains. You may even want to add two straws to enjoy the drink with your Sweetheart!

CREAMY CHOCOLATE MINT DRINK
This is an old recipe from my childhood, growing up in hot and muggy Southern Indiana.

1 cup hot milk
1/2 cup chocolate malt powder (not cocoa)
3 cups cold milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1 pint vanilla ice cream

Combine the hot milk and the chocolate malt powder, stirring until the malt powder is completely dissolved. Add the cold milk, vanilla, salt, and peppermint extract; refrigerate to chill. Before serving, add a pint of vanilla ice cream and stir until frothy. Great refreshment on a hot day!

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE SHAKE
This classic recipe is from a very old newspaper clipping about an old "Shake Shop" that was popular during the 1950s but is long gone.

A Few Good Reasons to Indulge in Dark Chocolates

Endorphins are Dark chocolate also stimulates the production of endorphins. It has shown positive results in helping fight memory loss, inducing mental alertness and improving blood flow to the brain. Another interesting observation on the benefits of dark chocolate is on its effect on the functions of the brain. Flavinoids have been noted to help reduce blood pressure and regulate bad LDL cholesterol so we can maintain a more robust and youthful heart.

For dark chocolate to carry the said health benefits, it has to have cocoa content of at least 70 percent. That explains its distinct flavour that some people find quite pleasurable. Cacao is often removed due to its bitter taste, but dark chocolate carries much of it. The key ingredient responsible for all these is known as flavinoids, which occur naturally in cacao and possess anti-oxidant properties.

Research has revealed that it helps slow down the aging process and contributes to mental alertness, helping us all to maintain a healthy body and a youthful mind. Dark chocolates have been observed to carry anti-aging benefits. And it's quite welcome hearing that something you had secretly indulged in turned out to be good, when all the time you were thinking it was bad for you! Chocolates taste heavenly, especially the dark type that doesn't come too sweet. A lot of us love chocolates, so it felt like hitting the jackpot when studies showed its numerous health benefits.