A nice twist to this chocolate tart with the addition of fruits. The recipe provided by The Horn of Plenty does not state the cocoa percentage chocolate they use although I consider the higher 75%-85% range of dark chocolate to be a perfect match. Head chef comments 'The tropical tart was originally a recipe I thought up for my kids - I'd promised to make them a chocolate dessert. I had a banana and some coconut and wondered what to make and came up with the tropical tart. They loved it!'

RECIPE INGREDIENTS; (7 servings)

250g unsalted butter

145g flour

2 tablespoons cocoa (See my recommendation)

115g icing sugar

1 large egg yolk

METHOD

Let the butter sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.

Sift together flour and cocoa powder.

Place the icing sugar in a mixing bowl, add the butter and toss to coat using the paddle attachment or a hand held mixer, cream the sugar and butter at medium speed until well mixed, add the sieved flour and cocoa and the egg yolk and beat well until well blended. Continue to mix until a smooth dough forms.

Tropical Tart Mixture

225ml double cream

1 banana coarsely chopped

36g unsweetened shredded coconut

Grated zest of an orange

3 large egg yolks

5 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped (See my recommendation)

4oz diced pineapple or 2 passion fruit

6 x 4 inch, fully baked chocolate tart shells

METHOD

Combine the cream, banana and coconut in a large saucepan, grate the zest of the orange into the cream and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let cool.

Strain the coconut cream into a medium saucepan pressing firmly with a back of a spoon. Place the egg yolks in a bowl.

Bring cream to a simmer then remove from the heat , whisk in the chocolate, cream in the egg yolks slowly whisking constantly, strain into a bowl. Spoon chocolate cream into the cooked tart cases. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until set. Serve with vanilla ice-cream and a raspberry sauce.

The Horn of Plenty Country House Hotel and Restaurant

Gulworthy

Tavistock

Devon

PL19 8JD

England

Chocolate Traveller Notes

For this recipe I am recommending two options; For the bitter chocolate option the 85% Afrique dark chocolate bar (100g) would be perfect as the additional fruits with the dish would certainly balance beautifully with the deep roasted notes of this dark chocolate. However, for a sweeter finish and as the dish has an exotic theme then I think the Michel Cluizel 65% Mangaro dark chocolate bar (100g) would be an interesting choice, particularly for a sweeter tooth, or the Valrhona 61% and 68% larger sized blocks. The cocoa choice would be the Valrhona Gastronomie Range Cocoa powder.