Gingered Chocolate Tart with Sweet Potato Crust

This tart was inspired by a fudge pie my mom used to make when I was growing up in Nashville, TN. She got the recipe from a friend named Judy, who was the closest thing to Paula Deen in our family’s social circle. The woman could do wonders with a stick of butter. She made cheesy apples with Velveeta that were to die for. I’ll have to share that recipe another time.

I’ve been wanting to experiment with a sweet potato crust for a while now and decided to use the fudge pie filling from Judy’s recipe as jumping off point. I cut back on some of the sugar and added some crystallized ginger to spice things up a bit. I also have a savory pie in the works that will use the sweet potato crust as well. This tart would make a great dessert for a certain commercial love holiday that is coming up in the near future.

Gingered Chocolate Tart with Sweet Potato Crust

Makes one 9″ tart

Crust:

• 1 cup AP Flour
• 1/2 cup Mashed Sweet Potato, chilled
• 8 Tbs Cold Unsalted Butter, cubed
• Pinch of Salt

Filling:

• 3 Tbs Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1/2 Stick of Butter, melted
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 cup Evaporated Milk
• 3 Tbs Crystallized Ginger, minced

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse together all of the crust ingredients until they start to form into a loose dough. Turn the dough out onto the counter and finish bringing it together with your hands. Please be careful not to over work the dough, or it will become tough and chewy. Form the dough into a round and cover it tightly in plastic wrap. Let the dough chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes, while you put the filling together.

In a bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients and whisk them together until smooth. The batter should be fairly runny.

Once the dough has chilled, roll it out into roughly an 11″ round. The dough should be between a 1/8″ and 1/4″ thick. Carefully lay the dough into a buttered pie dish or tart pan. Dock the dough with a fork to ensure it doesn’t bubble. Cover the crust with a sheet of parchment or wax paper and then use pie weights or beans to weigh down the center. Put the crust in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven and pour in the filling. Return the pan to the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Let it bake for another 35 to 40 minutes. Once it is done baking, let it cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Sprinkle the top with more crystallized ginger to garnish.

Enjoy!

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