I whipped up this baked mocha tart laced with Kirsch a few days before I left for England as a concession to a friend who I owed a favor but would not be able to fulfill until I return to New York. I was concerned he would wonder why I baked a cake when I should have been dutifully toiling away on the completion of said favor. I worried that it would not be a suitable substitute for my debt, even a cake as sublimely rich and creamy as this one. But with the minutes to departure clicking away at an alarming speed, I left the tart in a pie box at his office and never had an opportunity to judge his reaction to it. The fact that the nagging, an annoying feature in our conversations that had been all too prevalent before the cake delivery, completely stopped and his emails became affable questions about how the trip is going, leads me to believe that this velvety number worked its magic, and in the best of all chocolatey worlds, the spell it cast will hold out until I return.

I took this recipe from Donna Hay Magazine, which, as I mentioned before, is one of my favorite food publications. The body of the cake is exquisitely silky with the density of creamy peanut butter and a chocolate intensity that borders on obscene. I added a few splashes of Kirsch to it but Grand Marnier, a drizzle of Kahlua or any number of other options would work just as well and if you're the type of person I love, the one who doesn't let anything stand in the way of their palette and chocolate, omit this step all together. The crust is a fast and easy shortcrust to which I added a handful of toasted hazelnuts for a nutty snap. The cookie like texture of the crust adds a crispy structural counterpoint to the nearly out of the stratosphere creaminess of the filling.

If there's an obligation that you don't have the time to fulfill at the moment, might I suggest baking up your own mocha tart with hazelnut shortbread crust as a concession? It should buy you a bit more time and earn you a reprieve from the guilt that emerges in a world of too many obligations and not enough minutes in the day to fulfill them all.

Baked Mocha Tart With Hazelnut Shortcrust
The toasted hazelnuts could be substituted with any number of other nuts or omit them all together. The same goes for the Kirsch. For a final flourish, dust the tart with cocoa.

for the shortcrust pastry

2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons superfine sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, skins removed, chopped
5 1/4 ounces cold unsalted butter, chopped
2-3 tablespoons ice water

for the mocha filling
7 ounces dark chocolate, melted
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon espresso
2 tablespoons Kirsch
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

for the mocha filling

1. Place the chocolate, cream, brown sugar, coffee, Kirsch, eggs and yolk in a bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside. 

for the shortcrust pastry

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the flour, sugar, cocoa, hazelnuts and butter in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  While the motor is running, add enough water to form a smooth dough and process until just combined. Lightly knead the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for thirty minutes. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface or between sheets of parchment paper until it is 1/8 inch thick. Line the base of a nine inch lightly greased tart tin with the pastry and trim the edges.

3. Place a piece of parchment over the pastry, fill with pie weights and bake for ten minutes. Remove the weights and bake for an additional ten minutes or until the pastry is crisp. Reduce the temperature to 320 degrees. Pour the filling into the tart case and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes or until set. Allow to cool at room temperature for at least an hour. Refrigerate. Tart will keep for four to five days in the fridge.

Yield: 6-8 servings