Learn how to make a beautiful easy Earl Grey chocolate tart with whipped cream and a graham cracker crust. You can make this a no-bake dessert by chilling the graham cracker crust instead of baking it! The mascarpone helps stabilize the whipped cream topping so that it doesn't weep.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Have a 9-inch square tart pan with removable bottom ready (like this one from Amazon), placed on a baking sheet so that you can easily transfer to and from the oven.
In a medium bowl mix the crust ingredients until the butter has evenly coated all the crumbs.
Pour the crust mixture in the tart pan, and press it out firmly and evenly all over the base and up the sides of the pan.
Bake the crust for about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool. If you are unsure about this step, check out my tips on how to remove a tart from a tart pan.
Earl Grey chocolate ganache filling
Begin by simmering (not boiling) the cream in a small saucepan with the tea bags for about 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Remove the pan from the stove, but leave the tea bags in while you work on the chocolate.
In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate with the butter in the microwave on power level 5, microwaving for 1 minute at a time, then stirring, and repeating, until it is all melted and smooth.
Remove the tea bags from the cream and add the tea-steeped hot cream to the chocolate mixture and stir until it is smooth (if the cream was a little cold, and the mixture appears curdled, just microwave it again for a couple minutes on power level 5, stirring every minute).
Add the vanilla and salt.
Let the chocolate ganache you’ve just made sit on the counter, for an hour or so, to cool and set just enough that it is still pourable, but not super liquid (you know what I mean?).
Transfer the ganache to the tart shell using a rubber spatula, being sure to not get chocolate on the edges, and also to not disturb the delicate edges of the crust.
Let cool completely, cover, and refrigerate until the filling is set, about 4 hours and up to 8 hours before proceeding with the recipe.
Earl Grey whipped cream
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the mascarpone, cream, sugar, and tea leaves on low, to combine, then on medium-high, until the mixture is thick and holds firm peaks. Don’t overbeat, or you’ll make butter (tasty, but not what we’re going for here…).
With an offset spatula, spread the topping over the set tart, leaving pretty swirls and peaks of cream. Don’t worry if a little ganache is peaking through the cream. It looks better like that.
Notes
For a no-bake chocolate tart, skip the graham cracker crust baking step and instead chill the crust thoroughly while you make the filling. The no bake graham cracker crust might be slightly more delicate than a baked graham cracker crust, but the crust will still be sturdy enough to unmold and slice once the filling has properly set.
For the dark chocolate, I used Cacao Barry Ocoa 70 % dark chocolate. Ocoa is a dark chocolate produced by Cacao Barry. It has a 70% cocoa content and is not overly sweet! Ocoa is available at IGA stores in Quebec, or you can order it online from Vanilla Food Company and have it shipped across the US & Canada!