The chocolate tart recipe Lennox Hastie perfected over years

This dessert is a dance of contrasts, each element complementing the other. The combination of salt and chocolate will have you coming back for more.

Warm chocolate tart recipe by Lennox Hastie. Photo: Nikki To

Chocolate at Easter is the perfect sweet indulgence, an affordable luxury that we can savour in moments of solitude or share with loved ones. This tart has been adapted over the years from an original recipe by Simon Hopkinson, who has long been a British food hero of mine, evolving to incorporate wattleseed, cocoa, and a touch of salt. I love the combination of salt with high quality chocolate – it alters our perception of sweetness, adding a subtle savoury note that enhances the natural bitterness, fruit, and acid profile while balancing out the richness of the chocolate. It is a dance of contrasts, each element complementing the other, creating a flavour profile together that is both complex and deeply satisfying.

Also in time for Easter, Lennox Hastie shares his tip for the perfect roast lamb loin. Get the recipe here.

Chocolate wattleseed tart recipe

Ingredients

Pastry:

200g flour

25g cocoa powder

5g wattleseed, finely ground

55g icing sugar

150g unsalted butter, finely diced

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp cream

Pinch sea salt

Chocolate filling:

2 eggs

3 egg yolks

40g caster sugar

150g unsalted butter

200g dark chocolate

Recipe

In a bowl, beat the butter, sugar and egg yolks together, and add the cream. In another bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, wattleseed and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, combining into a thick dough. Form the dough into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. You can also do this the day before. Roll out the dough thinly on a floured surface and use it to line four 11cm tart tins. Place in the fridge to rest for another 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 180°C.

Blind bake the pastry by lining it with parchment paper and filling it with dry beans. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the parchment and the dry beans and bake for another 5-6 minutes, until the pastry is crisp. While the pastry is baking, make the filling. In a bain-marie, melt the butter and chocolate together over low heat, stirring constantly, set aside.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and caster sugar until light and frothy.

Slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture, gently folding until fully combined.

Pour the filling into the baked crust and bake for 5 minutes, until the filling is set but still slightly wobbly in the middle. Remove the tart from the oven, allow to cool to room temperature, and sprinkle with a few flakes of salt before serving.