Flourless Chocolate Almond Tart

Happy New Year, wish you a fabulous year ahead! All new beginnings,  big and small occasions, well, just about anything is a good excuse to have dessert. So here is a Flourless Chocolate Almond Tart for you.

Okay so it is financier batter baked in a tart tin,so I am going to be calling it as a tart. At the cost of being repetitive, that is the beauty of baking at home. You can of course bake the batter in mini muffin tins or financier molds, it shouldn't matter really as long as the end result is good. Do you agree? 

This tart has quite an intense chocolate flavor, complimenting the flavor of the ground almonds beautifully. The batter comes together in no time, bakes up quickly. The dry ingredients can be mixed and stored away,so all you would need to do is stir in the egg whites and the melted butter and you are just 10 minutes away from some indulgent chocolate deliciousness. 

I liked these plain baked in a mini muffin tin, but a little ice cream and a complimentary dessert sauce doesn't really hurt. Given that strawberries are now in season, you must serve the tart with some fresh berry sauce, freeze some sauce while you are at it.

One thing to pay attention to here is grinding the almonds. If you have easy access to good quality almond meal, it makes it all the more easier. But if grinding your own, be sure you grind the almonds fine without them turning oily or pasty. If grinding almonds for the first time, you may want to watch my video here. 

Ingredients

Powdered sugar or Granulated sugar - 86 grams

Almonds, at room temperature  - 100 grams

Cocoa powder - 20 grams

Soft unsalted butter - 84 grams

Egg whites - 80 grams(at room temperature)

Instant coffee - 1/2 teaspoon or more to taste

Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon

Method: 

• Preheat oven to 200C. Line the bottom of a loose-bottomed tart tin with baking parchment and grease the sides. My tart tin measures 7.5 inches across and almost 1 inch tall. You can also bake these in a mini muffin tin.
• Take the almonds in a plastic bag, bash them into small pieces. 
•  Using the smallest jar of the mixer, grind them with the powdered sugar in two batches. 
• Grind in short 10 second spurts. Be careful as we want the almonds to be ground fine without becomes oily. 
• Melt the butter and keep aside.
• Take the almond-sugar mixture, cocoa, and coffee in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk well to combine.(At this point, the mixture can be stored airtight in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before using)
• Whisk in the egg whites.
• Mix in the melted butter.
• Transfer to the prepared tin 
• Bake for 12-16 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached to it. Do not overbake or the tart will be dry. If you want the tart slightly gooey, remove from the oven 2-3 minutes earlier. 
• The baking time will vary depending on your oven and the size of the tin.
• Let the tart cool for 5-10 minutes. 
• Unmold and serve warm or at room temperature with some vanilla ice cream and strawberry sauce. 
• Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.