Hidden Bunny Loaf Cake

 A buttery vanilla loaf cake hides a cute chocolate bunny in the centre for a delicious Easter cake!

Hot Cross Bun Blondies

 Hot Cross buns are the epitome of Easter and I've used all the flavours for these gooey blondies!

Chocolate Guinness Tart with Coffee Whipped Cream

 A shortcrust pastry with a chocolate Guinness

filling and a coffee whipped cream top for a light but decadent dessert

My Guinness recipes have grown as I present this wonderful tart. I'm not sure where the idea came from to feature Guinness in a chocolate tart, but I'm enjoying more ideas of ways to use it. And it's funny that the flavour isn't directly Guinness, only that it enhances the chocolate flavour which I'm a big fan of. Along with the buttery shortcrust base, and the light whipped cream on top it doesn't feel like an indulgent dessert but it's a step up from your average chocolate bar. I added coffee to the whipped cream as my research suggests that along with chocolate, coffee and stout marry well together and I love coffee. This tart is perfect to add to a table of celebrations especially for St Patrick's Day or any other day which might need a special dessert.

If you love chocolate and tarts....

Check out my other recipes for more inspiration!

• Vegan Chocolate Guinness Loaf Cake
• Chocolate Guinness Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
• Blueberry Vanilla Tart

Recipe

Prep: 3 hours

Cook: 30 minutes

Serves: 8

Notes:

• If you're short on time, store-bought shortcrust pastry will work just fine though I always recommend making your own as I think it tastes better!
• You could swap the Guinness for the non-alcoholic version. 
• Usually I would say most desserts can be frozen but I wouldn't freeze this tart because of the whipped cream topping, the freezer can alter the texture of the cream. 

Ingredients

Shortcrust pastry

• 125g butter, cold
• 220g plain flour
• pinch of salt
• 2-3 tbsp ice cold water

Filling

• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g light soft brown sugar
• 150ml Guinness 
• 100ml double cream
• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Coffee whipped cream

• 150ml double cream
• 2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 30g icing sugar

Method

1. Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch tart tin and set aside.
2. Make the pastry base first. In a large bowl add the butter, salt and flour. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until it resembles a bread crumb consistency. Then add the water 1 tbsp at a time. Mix together until a firm dough is formed. 
3. Flatten out into a disc shape on to clingfilm then wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature for 10 minutes so it is not too hard when you try to roll it out, otherwise the pastry will crack.
5. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick into a rough circle - bigger than the tart tin.
6. Roll the pastry up with your rolling pin so that you can easily transfer it over the tart tin to drape over. 
7. Use your fingers to push the pastry down into the sides of the tin for a sharp edge. Use a sharp knife to trim the excess from around the top of the tart. If you have any spots of the base that look thinner you can use the excess pastry to press into it to make the base thicker. 
8. Place the tart base back into the fridge for about an hour.
9. Preheat the oven to 180℃. Once the pastry is chilled, use a fork to prick the base all over.
10. Line the base with greaseproof paper on the bottom and the sides and use baking beans or dried rice to sit on top of the paper - this is blind baking.
11. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the paper and baking beans and bake for another 5 minutes.
12. Leave the tart base to cool.
13. Meanwhile make the filling. 
14. Put the sugar in a saucepan with the butter and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Simmer for 2 minutes, then stir in the Guinness and 100ml of cream and simmer for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
15. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Whisk gently until the chocolate has melted and everything is combined. 
16. Pour the filling into the tin on top of the cooked pastry and chill in the fridge for about 6 hours, until set. You can speed this up by placing it into the fridge for about 2 hours first, then transfer to the freezer for an hour and it should be set.
17. Once the tart is set make the cream topping. Add the double cream to a large bowl along with the icing sugar and instant coffee and whip to medium stiff peaks, about 3 minutes.
18. Spread on top of the set chocolate filling.
19. Grate some chocolate on top to finish, then serve.
20. Best stored in the fridge up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Christina

xx