Chocolate & almond tart

Ingredients    Filling: 75g butter, 75g caster sugar, 75g ground almonds, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 egg, 2 tbsp milk    Pastry: 250g butter, 100g caster sugar, 500g plain flour, 1 tbsp milk.

Serves: 6 preparation: 1 hour 30


Almonds go so perfectly with chocolate, the nuttiness really works with the strength of the cocoa beans and the texture of the tart filling contrasts beautifully with the crisp casing.


1) To make sweet shortcut pastry: sift the flour and sugar and add small cubes of the cold butter into your blender and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the milk and pulse until a dough ball forms. Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge to cool for an hour.


2) To prepare the filling: mix the sugar, almonds and cocoa powder together and cream in the butter. Beat in the egg and milk until the mixture is smooth.


3) Roll out the pastry and cut out circles of dough. I made some tarts with very thin crusts and some like the picture with the thicker casing and both work equally well.


4) Press into the tart cases and pour in the filling. Bake for 25 minutes at 200 degrees and dust with icing sugar.