Photo courtesy of Rabbit Rabbit

This rich, salty-sweet, gluten-free recipe by Chef Billy Nguyen, executive chef at Rabbit Rabbit wine bar in Victoria, would be delightful paired with a tawny Port or similar dessert wine. Note: While most measurements below are in imperial volume, some ingredients are in grams as they are more accurate if weighed. An electronic kitchen scale is a handy and inexpensive gadget to add to your kitchen arsenal.

Makes 1 (9-inch)  tart

Ingredients

Almond Tart Base

600 g almond flour

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp salt

1 cup butter, cut into small pieces

Chocolate Ganache

3 1/3 cups heavy cream

600 g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Miso Caramel

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup water

1 cup cream

2 Tbsp miso

2 “knobs” (Tbsp) butter

Method

Make the tart base: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, sugar and salt, and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat and stir it into the almond flour mixture until well blended.

Press evenly and firmly into a 9-inch tart mould. Place on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 12 to15 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from oven and set aside to cool fully.

While the shell is cooling, make the chocolate ganache. Fill a saucepan with about 2 inches of water and bring to a lively simmer. Place the chocolate and cream in a mixing bowl that just fits into the saucepan and place it on top to make a bain-marie. Heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is fully melted.

Pour the ganache into your cooled almond tart base.

Make the miso caramel: In a small pot, heat up the cream until just before it reaches boiling point. Turn off the heat.

Place sugar and water in a separate, larger pot and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Place over medium heat and cook, without stirring, until the sugar mixture becomes golden brown.

Remove from the heat and carefully pour the hot cream into the sugar, adding a little at a time as the caramel will bubble and spit. Stir in the miso and 2 knobs of butter.

Drizzle miso caramel over the chocolate ganache. Allow to set for an hour or so, then serve.

Vitis Magazine

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