Nigella Lawson Chocolate Tart

Nigella Lawson’s salted chocolate tart is a rich, silky chocolate filling set in a no-bake Oreo biscuit base, flecked with smoked sea salt and served with crème fraîche. It cuts into 14 slices, from her book Simply Nigella.

She says she’d always avoided chocolate tarts, not from laziness but because she never felt the pastry served the chocolate or was worth the effort. Her solution: a base of chocolate biscuits. The filling is just as easy, though, as she notes, no one will believe her from the taste.

The salt is crucial. She feels the hit of salt subtly counters the richness of all that chocolate, and goes gladly for smoked sea salt. You can use regular sea salt flakes (not fine salt), and Bourbon biscuits instead of Oreos.

Nigella Lawson Chocolate Tart

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

14

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Calories

340

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Nigella’s no-bake salted chocolate tart from Simply Nigella: a silky dark chocolate filling set in an Oreo biscuit base, flecked with smoked salt and served with crème fraîche. Cuts into 14.

Ingredients

• For the base:

• 28 Oreo cookies (2 x 154g packets)

• 50g dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids)

• 50g soft unsalted butter

• ½ teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes

• For the filling:

• 100g dark chocolate (min. 70% cocoa solids)

• 25g cornflour

• 60ml full-fat milk

• 500ml double cream

• 50g cocoa (sieved)

• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (or strong instant coffee powder)

• 75g caster sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or extract)

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

• ¾ teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes

prime30 days freeMissing an ingredient?✓ Free fast delivery   ✓ Cancel anytimeTry Prime freeUnderlined ingredients link to Amazon UK. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Directions

• Make the base: You’ll need a 23cm deep, loose-bottomed flan tin. Snap the biscuits and chocolate into a processor and blitz to crumbs. Add the butter and salt and blitz until it clumps. (By hand: bash the biscuits in a bag, finely chop the chocolate, melt the butter, and mix with the salt.)
• Line the tin: Press firmly over the base and up the sides, smooth. Chill at least 1 hour (2 if your fridge is full). Don’t keep it longer than a day at this stage, or the Oreo crust gets too crumbly.
• Start the filling: Finely chop the chocolate. Whisk the cornflour and milk smooth in a cup. In a heavy pan, combine the cream, chopped chocolate, sieved cocoa, espresso, sugar, vanilla, olive oil and smoked salt. Over medium-low heat, whisk gently (a small whisk) as it melts, just to banish lumps, not to add air.
• Thicken: Off the heat, whisk in the cornflour-milk mixture, then back on low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until it thickens (around 10 minutes, maybe more or less), lifting off the heat now and then so it melds without boiling. It’s ready when it coats the back of a spoon and a finger-line holds.
• Cool the filling: Pour into a wide jug (about 600ml), press a damp, wrung-out, crumpled piece of parchment onto the surface, and fridge for 15 minutes. It’ll still be warm, but the right temperature to ooze in without melting the base.
• Fill and set: Pour and scrape into the base and fridge overnight (no longer than 24 hours, or the base softens).
• Serve: Take out 10 minutes before serving but unmould straight away (sit the tin on a jar, let the ring fall away, leave the base on). Slice modestly and serve with crème fraîche.

Notes

• (the salt): The salt is crucial to counter the richness. Nigella loves smoked sea salt here; regular sea salt flakes work (not fine salt).
• (biscuit swap): You can use Bourbon biscuits in place of the Oreos.
• (slice modestly): It’s very rich and sweet, so cut small slices; people can come back for more.
• (make ahead): The base and the filling can each be made a day ahead. Fill and refrigerate overnight until set, then tent with foil without touching the surface.
• (store): Keep in the fridge; leftovers keep 4 to 5 days, though the base softens and sides crumble a little as it stands.
• Chilling: At least 1 hour (base) plus overnight

FAQs

Why a biscuit base instead of pastry?

It’s Nigella’s deliberate solution to a problem she had with chocolate tarts: she never felt pastry actually served the chocolate or justified the effort. A no-bake base of crushed chocolate biscuits (Oreos) is far easier, needs no baking or blind-baking, and its chocolatey crunch complements the rich filling better than plain pastry.

So you simply blitz the biscuits (with a little dark chocolate, butter and salt), press into the tin and chill, no rolling or oven required. Press it firmly up the sides as well as the base to hold the filling. Nigella notes the whole thing is far easier than it tastes, “no one will believe me on this one”.

Why smoked sea salt, and can I use ordinary salt?

The salt is, in Nigella’s words, crucial: it subtly counters and balances the intense richness of all the chocolate, stopping the tart being cloying and giving that addictive sweet-salty-bitter depth. She’s having “a bit of a smoked salt moment” and loves the gentle smokiness it adds here, in both the base and the filling.

If you can’t get smoked sea salt, regular sea salt flakes (like Maldon) work well too, she says, just not fine, free-flowing table salt, which would dissolve into uniform saltiness rather than giving little bursts. The flakes are the point. Start a touch under if you’re unsure, as you can’t take salt out.

Why cook the filling rather than just making a ganache?

Most chocolate tart fillings are a simple ganache of chocolate and cream, but Nigella’s is a cooked, cornflour-thickened chocolate custard-style filling. The cornflour (whisked with milk) sets it to a silky, sliceable, pudding-like texture that holds its shape when cut, without needing eggs or baking, and it stays luscious rather than firm.

You cook it gently, whisking to keep it smooth, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and hold a finger-line. Don’t let it boil, and lift it off the heat periodically so it thickens evenly without splitting. The espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavour without tasting of coffee, and the olive oil adds a subtle richness.

What’s the damp parchment trick for?

After cooking, you pour the filling into a jug, press a damp, crumpled piece of parchment directly onto its surface, and chill it for 15 minutes before pouring it into the base. The damp parchment stops a skin forming on the warm filling, keeping it smooth.

The 15-minute chill is the clever bit: it brings the filling to the ideal temperature, still warm and pourable, but cool enough to “ooze into the base without melting it”. Pour it in too hot and it would soften or melt the chilled Oreo crust; too cold and it won’t spread smoothly. So don’t skip that short rest.

How do I serve it, and why small slices?

Nigella is emphatic about slicing modestly, since the tart is intensely rich and sweet, so a small slice satisfies and people can always come back for more. Thin slices let everyone enjoy it without it being overwhelming.

She serves it with crème fraîche, whose sharpness is “just right here”, cutting through the dense chocolate beautifully. Softly whipped cream or a few fresh raspberries work too. It’s a showstopping, make-ahead party dessert, in the same rich, chilled, no-bake spirit as her bitter orange tart. There’s more on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.

Can I make it ahead, store and how long does it keep?

It’s a great make-ahead for entertaining, and in fact needs to be made ahead, since it sets overnight. You can make the base and the filling each a day in advance, then fill the tart and refrigerate it overnight until set, tented with foil without touching the surface.

One timing caveat Nigella gives: don’t leave the empty base longer than a day, or the filled tart longer than 24 hours before eating, as the Oreo crust gradually softens. Leftovers keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, though the base softens and the sides crumble a little, which doesn’t spoil the eating but is why she likes to serve it at its optimal stage first. It’s not one to freeze.