Smoked Rosemary & Blackberry...Smoked Rosemary & Blackberry Chocolate Ganache Tart

A sophisticated, avant-garde dessert featuring a crisp toasted hazelnut crust, a silky dark chocolate ganache infused with applewood-smoked rosemary, and a vibrant wild blackberry-fennel pollen gelée.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Combine ground hazelnuts, flour, powdered sugar, and sea salt in a bowl. Cut in the cold cubed butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand, then add the egg yolk and bind the pastry. Press into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, prick with a fork, and chill for 30 minutes.

2. 02

   Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line the pastry shell with parchment paper, fill with pie weights, and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment, then bake for an additional 10 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack.

3. 03

   Place the rosemary sprigs in a heatproof bowl. Using a kitchen torch, gently char the leaves until they begin to smoke. Immediately cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap to trap the aromatic smoke, letting it infuse the rosemary for 5 minutes.

4. 04

   In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat, submerge the smoked rosemary sprigs into the cream, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes to extract the herbal and smoky notes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding the rosemary.

5. 05

   Pour the warm, infused cream over the chopped dark chocolate. Let sit undisturbed for 2 minutes, then slowly stir from the center outwards to create a perfect emulsion. Whisk in the room-temperature butter until glossy. Pour into the cooled tart shell and chill for 2 hours until set.

6. 06

   In a small saucepan, cook the blackberries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice over medium heat for 8 minutes until the fruit collapses. Pass through a fine sieve to yield a smooth purée, discarding the seeds.

7. 07

   Bloom the gelatin in 1 tablespoon of cold water for 5 minutes, then stir it into the warm blackberry purée until fully dissolved. Whisk in the wild fennel pollen and let the mixture cool to room temperature (but not set).

8. 08

   Carefully pour the cooled blackberry gelée over the set chocolate ganache layer. Chill the tart for another 1 hour. Garnish with a few fresh blackberries, micro-herbs, and a final dust of fennel pollen before slicing with a hot knife.