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Chocolate Ganache and Tahini Swirled Tart

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People have been using tahini to make sweets in the Middle East for a very long time now (google halvah) and in the states it’s most commonly known as a main ingredient in hummus, but tahini has only recently hit the US food scene as a popular ingredient in making sweets. I’ve seen everything from tahini chocolate chip cookies to tahini brownies (my favorites are over at Olives+Thyme). Recently I had my own inspiration on the chocolate/tahini combo.

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I have this certain chocolate ganache tart that I have been making as a tradition on Valentine’s Day for my family for a few years now and I just knew that deep dark chocolate would pair perfectly with the nutty complexity of tahini!

As for the ganache, well it pretty much speaks for itself. Shiny, silky, richest of rich. Once I bit into this thing the only words I could utter were “oh my ganache!”

Ok, not really, but I for sure had some kind of dramatic reaction out of pure delight for the flavor of this tart!

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Right, so if you’ve never made ganache (see my ganache/truffle post here) and never tasted tahini, this is pretty much the best dessert ever for killing those two birds with one stone. Once you do it the first time I PROMISE the next times will not be scary and you’ll be making this over and over for special occasions, neighbors, friends, or to have with your favorite glass of wine while binge watching something on Netflix. Whatever it is just make sure you have someone to share it with…or an unwitting neighbor whose porch you can leave it on because it. Is. Decadent. And you will not want to leave one bite behind!

As always, please leave me a comment if you tried this and message me with any questions! Love to you!

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Chocolate Ganache and Tahini Swirled Tart

Ingredients
Crust
  • 6 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 packages of kinnikinick kinnitoos (or about 25 gluten free chocolate sandwich cookies)
Tahini Layer
  • 1/4 C. Tahini (well stirred) + 1 Tbsp sugar
Ganache Layer
  • 12 oz Chocolate Chips (2 cups)
  • 1 Cup Heavy Cream
Tahini Swirl
  • 3 Tbsp Tahini (well stirred) + 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • Flaky Sea Salt for finishing
Directions
Crust:
Pulse the chocolate sandwich cookies in a food processor until it is the consistency of sand or crush them in a gallon sized zip top bag with the bottom of a heavy pan or rolling pin.
Pour the crumbs into a tart pan (you can use a pie pan if you don’t have a tart pan), pour over the melted butter and mix with a fork until the butter is incorporated. Use your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crumbs firmly into your pan to form a crust.
Place crust in the freezer to harden for 5-10 minutes.
Ganache:

Measure out your chocolate chips or chopped chocolate into a heatproof bowl. I use my kitchen scale for this, but if you do not own one, 12 oz is roughly two cups.

In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream, stirring frequently until little bubbles start to form on the edges and the cream is hot to the touch (although I’m not heartily recommending this, I just carefully poke my finger in to see if it is hot).

Once the cream is hot pour it over the chocolate chips and let it sit for five minutes untouched. *note: do not labor over how hot the cream is. If it’s steaming and hot to the touch, it’s good.

After 5 minutes, whisk or stir the cream and chips together. Give some time for the chips to melt compltely while stirring, but if you find your ganache thickening but the chips just won’t melt completely no matter how much you stir, pop the mixture into the microwave for just 10 seconds and then stir for 20 seconds or so. After the chips are all melted your ganache should be shiny and silky smooth. Place to the side.

Tahini layer:

In a small bowl stir together 1/4 cup of tahini plus one tablespoon superfine caster sugar or powdered sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
Tahini swirl:
In a small bowl stir together 3 Tablepoons of Tahini plus 1 Tablespoon of caster sugar or powdered sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
Assembly:
Take your crust from the freezer and pour in the tahini layer. Place back into the freezer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, stir your ganache and pour it over the tahini layer.
Spread the ganache layer gently over the top of the tahini layer. After it is spread evenly, pour the 3 Tbsp tahini + 1 Tbsp sugar over the top of the ganache in a swirl pattern starting from the middle (this does not have to be perfect). Using a wooden skewer or a butter knife, start to swirl the tahini and ganache together making any design you want. Have fun with it! It turns out different each time which is great!
Sprinkle over a little flaky sea salt to finish. Fleur de Sel or Jacobson Sea Salt is excellent if you can get a hold of it, but any flaky salt will work.
Place the whole thing back in the freezer for 15 minutes or until the ganache is as set as you would like it to be. You can can also place in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 2 days in advance. It is meant to be served at room temperature, but leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator.

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Comments

  1. Okay where has this been all my life

    Made for a family get-together and it got rave reviews for a reason!!! Very rich, unique flavor that is now a favorite with fancier fare – and it’s GORGEOUS to boot!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. […] For a Tart: At this stage, your ganache is not hardened enough to scoop out and roll into balls to be made into truffles, but you could most definitely pour this into a tart shell and pop it into the fridge to harden for an hour or so. After that, top it with fruit, whipped topping, oreos, graham crackers and marshmallows (smores pie anyone?), or whatever other creations you can think of! Find my recipe for my Ganache and Tahini Swirl Tart right here. […]

    Reply

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