Chocolate Pecan Tart

Chocolate Pecan Tart

Wait until you try this Chocolate Pecan Tart.  If you like pecan pie but think it has a tendency to be cloyingly sweet then you’ll absolutely love this tart.  It tastes like a grown up distant cousin of those chocolate turtle candies that so many of us love. 

My strategy here was twofold.  First I cut the ingredient quantities of a classic pecan pie by a quarter so that it would perfectly fill a 9 inch tart pan.  This results in slightly smaller full-sized pieces.  Sounds like an oxymoron right.  But what I created here by cutting the filling ingredients is full sized (1/8^th pie slices) that have less filling without losing the crust. 

The second idea I used for reducing the saccharin sweetness that is pecan pie, was adding a hint of cocoa and a few semisweet chocolate chips to the mix.  The key is not to add so much that the chocolate drowns out the flavor of the pie.  I tried to accent the flavor not obscure it.  

I'd say I succeeded quite well.      

Chocolate Pecan Tart

Prep Time: 30 min

Bake Time: 1 hour

Servings: 8

Ingredients for the Filling:

• 6 oz    pecan halves (keep 16 whole and chop the rest)
• 3 eggs
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 4  oz. butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
• ¾ cup light corn syrup
• 2  oz. mini semisweet chocolate chips            

Crust Ingredients (for a single pie crust)

• 1 ¼ cups gluten free flour (I used 185 grams of Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour)
• 4  oz. cold diced cream cheese (1/2 block)
• 4  oz. cold diced butter  (1 stick)

Video Tutorial: 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (or 162°C) degrees.
2. Pulse the crust ingredients together in a food processor until a crumbly dough forms then turn it out onto your work surface and bring it together into a round disc.  Wrap it in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before forming the crust.
3. Roll the crust out between sheets of plastic wrap until it’s two inches larger than the tart pan. 
4. Remove the top sheet of plastic and roll the dough onto a rolling pin before unrolling onto a 9 inch tart pan.
5. Lift the edges and press the crust into the pan then trim the edges and place the crust into the freezer for at least 15 minutes while you make the filling.
6. For the filling, set aside 16 pecan halves for garnish and chop the remaining pecans.
7. Beat the eggs, brown sugar, cocoa, and vanilla together.
8. Add the corn syrup and melted butter and beat until well combined.
9. Add the chopped pecans and chocolate chips and stir to combine.
10. Place the tart pan onto a baking sheet then pour mixture into the prepared pie crust and garnish edges with the pecan halves.
11. Bake at 325 for 1 hour rotating the pan after 30 minutes The filling should be set and the crust golden brown.
12. Let the tart rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Notes: In the video tutorial, I made a double crust recipe then divided the dough in half. The recipe listed in the ingredient above represents half the recipe in the video which is enough for a single crust pie.  To make a double crust batch, use the ingredients listed below: 

• 2 ½ cups gluten free flour (370 grams)
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 8 oz butter