Chocolate, orange and anise tart

This smooth and gooey chocolate tart, set in crisp, almond pastry, is rich with dark undertones of coffee and spiked with anise. It is delicious served with orange ice cream.

Serves 8-10
For the pastry
250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
25g ground almonds
¾ tsp ground allspice
Grated zest of 1 orange
150g cold butter, diced
100g icing sugar
A pinch of salt
1 free-range egg, plus 1 egg yolk

For the filling
275ml double cream
4 star anise, powdered, or 3 tsp ground anise
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
275g 70% dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
6 free-range egg yolks

1 Blitz the in a food processor to crumbs. Add the egg and yolk; then pulse to a dough. Knead lightly on a floured surface, wrap in clingfilm and chill for 1 hour.

2 Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper until it’s large enough to line a 24cm, deep, loose-based tart tin. Prick the pastry with a fork and chill for 20 minutes.

3 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Line the pastry case with baking paper and baking beans, then bake for 15–20 minutes until lightly coloured. Remove the beans and paper, and bake for 5 minutes until dry and golden.

4 Place the cream, anise, orange zest and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water and heat gently, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool a little.

5 Whisk the yolks into the chocolate mix one at a time, then pour the mix into the prepared pastry case and bake for 5–8 minutes or until just set – it will be lovely and shiny.Give the tray a gentle shake to test – once cooled the filling will firm up. Leave to cool then chill until ready to serve.The tart’s best served at room temperature, so take out of the fridge about half an hour before you want to eat it.

Smashing Plates by Maria Elia (Kyle Books)

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