Tarts & Pastry
Dubai Chocolate Tart
A dinner-party showstopper: a crisp buttery tart shell filled with a silky chocolate-pistachio ganache and crowned with a halo of golden toasted kataifi.
Step-by-step instructions
Make the pastry
Rub butter into flour and icing sugar until breadcrumb-like. Add egg yolk and water, mix to a dough. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Line and blind-bake
Roll out pastry and line a 23 cm tart tin. Prick the base, line with paper and baking beads. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes, remove beads and bake 8 more minutes until golden.
Make pistachio ganache
Heat cream until just simmering. Pour over chopped milk chocolate. Wait 1 minute, stir smooth, then stir in pistachio cream. Cool to room temperature.
Fill the tart
Pour the cooled ganache into the baked tart shell. Smooth with the back of a spoon. Refrigerate for 2 hours until set.
Add kataifi crown
Arrange toasted kataifi in a ring around the edge of the set tart. Scatter chopped pistachios over the centre.
Serve
Slice with a hot, dry knife and serve at room temperature with a small scoop of crème fraîche if desired.
💡 Dubai Bar tip: Blind-bake the pastry shell properly until it's biscuit-golden — an underbaked shell goes soggy from the ganache filling. Use baking beads or dried rice and give it 15 full minutes.