I always consider Chocolate Ganache Tart as an indulgent decadent dessert that is worth every calorie. With this kind of dessert, you simply have to forget anything about calorie and dieting, it just doesn’t work. But if you are going to break your diet, do it with this treat. A homemade buttery and creamy Almond Shortbread Tart filled with decadent chocolate ganache top with bits and pieces of toasted chopped Almond. Every bite literally melts in your mouth, and it is worth it.

This recipe uses few basic ingredients, so I encourage you to use only good quality ingredients. Every extra penny spent of quality ingredients is worth it. This recipe has 2 main parts. The tart crust which an Almond Shortbread Crust and the Chocolate Ganache Filling. Both are easy to make, but if you want to make it even easier, you can make the tart ahead of time. You can either freeze it unbaked, or bake it and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Because of how easy it is to make, I do not mind making both the same day. But it is good to know that if I am short of time, I can make them separately on different day. The most of the work will be waiting for the chocolate ganache to set, but again, it is worth the wait so be patient.

Let’s Talk About the Almond Shortbread Crust

As I mentioned earlier, this uses simple ingredients, they are easy to find.

• Butter – the basic ingredient of most tart or crust. If using hand mixer, use softened butter for easy mixing. If using food processor or stand mixer, cold butter works just as good.
• Granulated White Sugar – to sweeten the crust, you can add more if you prefer sweeter crust
• All-Purpose Flour – the second basic ingredient and most pie or tart crust
• Almond Flour – not a basic ingredient for making tart crust but it does give a nice flavor and texture to the tart. If you do not have Almond Flour, you can use equal amount of All-Purpose Flour
• Rice Flour or Cornstarch – This helps produce a nice crunchy compact tart. If you do not have one, you can skip it
• Salt – I always add salt to my tart crust for flavor and taste. If using salted butter, skip the salt
• Pure Vanilla Extract – optional but if you have it, use it. It is all about adding more flavor as possible
• Flaked/chopped Almonds – for garnishing and added crunch. You can also use fresh fruits or shaved chocolate to garnish the top, or simply leave it as is

Let’s Talk About the Chocolate Ganache

• Chocolate: I used a Semi-Sweet Chocolate, but you can use any of your preferred chocolate. Make sure to use cooking chocolate and not eating chocolate. Eating Chocolate will not melt properly and might result in a grainy, unset ganache. I wouldn’t recommend raw unsweetened chocolate as it will turn out to be too bitter.
• Cream: Heavy or Thickened Cream, no substitution here. Do not use a Fat Free or Low Fat Cream, it would have an impact on both the taste and the texture of the ganache.
• Butter: Butter adds flavor, and helps produce a smooth consistency
• Honey: This is optional, but if you want to add a bit of sweetness especially when using high percentage dark chocolate. Aside from sweetness, Honey also helps in the fluidity of the ganache and it keeps the ganache from getting too hard as it cools.
• Salt: optional, but I find a bit of salt is nice to balance the sweetness of the chocolate.

This is another one of those easy to make deserts with few ingredients needed. It is so easy to make that you would want to make it over and over again. I just cannot get enough  of this Almond Shortbread, so good. Let’s get started!

Ingredients:

Almond Shortbread Cookie Tart

• 1/2 cup COLD (113 grams) unsalted Butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated White Sugar
• 1/2 tsp (1 gram) Pure Vanilla Extract (optional)
• 2/3 cup (85 grams) All-Purpose Flour
• 1/3 cup (40 grams) Ground Almonds (almond meal/flour)
• 2 tbsp (15 grams) Rice Flour or Cornstarch (corn flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) Salt
• Flaked/chopped Almonds for decorating the top

Chocolate Ganache

• 226g/8 oz good quality Milk or Dark/Chocolate (chopped/ shredded chocolate chunks). I used Bakers Baking Chocolate
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp /about 148g/148 ml Whipping cream (35% milk fat)
• 1 tablespoon Honey (optional) – If using Milk chocolate, you can skip this
• 1 teaspoon unsalted Butter
• pinch Salt

Instructions:

Make the Almond Shortbread Cookie Tart

I used my favorite Almond Shortbread Crust as base for this pie. You can also use a regular pastry tart crust, or a chocolate tart crust.

1. Preheat your oven to 350F/180C. You will need  6 or 8 inch tart pan with a removable/non removable bottom.
2. Cream Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of your electric stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.
3. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl as needed.
4. Dry Ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, and rice flour/cornstarch and salt. Mix until it starts to form into a dough and no longer crumbly.
5. Transfer in a Pan: Press the shortbread dough evenly into a 6 or 8-inch removable bottom tart pan. Prick the surface of the shortbread with a fork to prevent the shortbread from puffing up. If you do not have a removable bottom tart pan, line the pan(bottom and side) with parchment paper. This will make removal easier. You can bake this is a square or rectangular size of similar size.
6. Freeze: Freeze for 30 minutes before baking. This will lessen the chance of the dough shrinking as it bakes.
7. Bake: Place in your preheated oven and bake until it is nicely browned (biscuit color), about 20 – 25 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Remove from the oven and once again use a fork to prick the top to allow the air to come out. Use the back of the spoon to level the top.
8. Cool: Place on a wire rack and allow the shortbread to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from tart pan. Make sure to remove it from the pan before putting it in the refrigerator. It will be more challenging to remove it once the sides hold on to the side and bottom of the pan. Set aside while you prepare the ganache.
9. Pour the warm Chocolate Ganache on the baked crust. Level the top with spatula or back of a spoon, or simply tilt the pan back and forth to allow the ganache to spread on its on. Do this while the chocolate is still warm for easy spreading.
10. Garnishing: Sprinkle chopped toasted Almonds on top. This is optional, but it adds a nice crunch and texture to the smooth and creamy ganache.
    1. Alternatively, you can also garnish the top with fresh sliced fruits or shaved chocolate
11. Cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hr or until the ganache is set.
    • Alternatively, if you are making this at night for serving the next day, leave the tart on counter top to set overnight.

Make the Chocolate Ganache

I have a more detailed post in making chocolate ganache, plus tips on how to use tip. Get the recipe HERE and watch the short video below. The classic basic chocolate ganache is only a 2 ingredients recipe, chocolate and cream with equal ratio. For this recipe, I added few more ingredients for a better tasting ganache and better texture. Nothing difficult to find, just butter and salt.

1. If using a cooking chocolate in the form of a bar, finely chop it. If using wafers or chips, use as is. Place the chocolate in a large heat-proof mixing bowl.
2. Pour the cream in a small saucepan and place on the stove on low heat until it starts to simmer. It does not need to boil fully, but you should see some steam coming out of the pan and bubbles starts to form on the side. Make sure to stir from time to time to avoid a film forming on top.
3. Pour half of the warm cream over the chopped chocolate and leave without stirring for 5 minutes. The Chocolate will start to melt with the heat.
4. Using a spatula, carefully stir the mixture in a circular movement, starting from the center of the bowl and slowly making your way to the edges. Keep the mixing in a slow gradual movement to avoid forming bubbles.
5. Add the honey, butter, pinch of salt and the rest of the hot Cream over the Chocolate and stir again in the same movement until all the Chocolate has melted and you get a smooth ganache.

Recipe Notes

• The amount of Ganache you need will depend on how big is your tart pan , and how thick you want your chocolate. Adjust as needed. I had made this using mini tart pan and I used less Ganache.
• You want your Ganache to be in between thick and runny, just enough that it spreads on its own when you pour it over. Add milk gradually so that you can control the thickness based on your preference.

Makes 8 – 10 shortbread wedges.

Did You Try This Recipe?

Let me know how it went! Comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #sweetnspicyliving

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