Bury St Edmunds MasterChef quarter-finalist Hannah Gregory brings us some winter comfort. . . with a twist

The days are getting shorter, the nights longer. We are entering the period of time that calls for rich, decadent desserts, hearty flavours, cold hands to make the crumbliest of pastry. . . enter the bay and rosemary chocolate tart.

This pud welcomes in the colder months with its use of woody winter herbs. When we think of roasts synonymous with this time of year, we think of roast chicken stuffed with thyme, beef sitting on a bed of rosemary, bay leaves simmering in gravy. . . but we usually stop there without thinking how well they can work in a sweet option – the perfume of the herbs works perfectly in infusing the cream to then make a subtle yet flavourful ganache to fill your tart.

You can use this recipe to make one large tart and then slice or individual tarts, which are perfect for dinner parties or when you need to impress. Either way, this tart is a sure fire crowd pleaser, is perfect to make ahead of time and if you have any excess pastry dough, it freezes well. I like to serve mine with crème fraîche and iced berries or edible flowers and chocolate soil.

BAY AND ROSEMARY CHOCOLATE TART

Makes 1 big tart or 10 individual

Ingredients:

170g unsalted butter

110g caster sugar

Fine salt

280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1 large egg

40g cocoa powder

25g rosemary sprigs

3 bay leaves

300ml whipping cream

275g dark chocolate (75% cocoa minimum)

Method:

To make your pastry, cream together your butter, caster sugar and salt.

Once combined, sift in the flour and cocoa powder and add the egg. The mixture will look like coarse breadcrumbs at which point, using your hands, bring it together to form a disc of dough, then wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for an hour.

Grease your tart case(s) with butter.

Once the hour is up, remove the dough from the fridge. Pop in between two sheets of greaseproof paper and roll out to 2mm thick.

If using one large tart case, carefully drape the pastry over the case and lightly tap the case on the side so the pastry ‘falls’ into the tin. Using your thumb and finger, carefully press the pastry into the fluted edges.

If using small, individual tins, use a cookie cutter that is slightly wider than your moulds. Cut out the discs of pastry and line the tart cases, tapping them on the side to allow the pastry to nuzzle down into them, using your finger and thumb to carefully push the pastry into the flutes.

Lightly prick the base of the cases with a fork and pop into the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

When the 30 minutes is up, bake your cases blind by filling the shell with baking beans or rice. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

When the cases are cooked, they should be dry to the touch, remove from the oven and allow to cool, carefully removing the baking beans when cool enough to handle.

To make the filling, pop the cream, rosemary and bay in a saucepan and heat till just before boiling, you will see the surface of the cream start to pucker. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Once cool, strain the cream back into the saucepan discarding the herbs and gently bring the cream to a simmer.

Meanwhile, set the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of water and heat gently until the chocolate is melted.

Carefully add the warm cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for a few minutes to meld.

Every so often give the cream and chocolate a stir with a spatula, being careful not to get too excited, an over-mixed chocolate and cream tends to split, whereas if you let them get to know each other gently, they will become great lovers.

Once the chocolate and cream is combined, transfer to a jug and pour into your cooled tart shells.

Allow to set at room temperature for an hour and then transfer to the fridge for 3 hours.

Find out about Hannah’s upcoming Supper Clubs and what she is currently cooking via Instagram: @WanderSups