Almond flavored pastry shell filled with chocolate cream filling and topped with pastry cream with grated Cocoa Pete's Maltimus Maximus chocolate

(Serves 6)

Pastry
5 1/2 ounces butter, room temperature
3 1/2 ounces sugar
1 egg
9 ounces pastry flour
1 1/4 ounces almond meal
Kosher salt, to taste

In a mix fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, then the remaining ingredients. Mix to combine. Refrigerate dough at least 1/2 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness and divide it among 6 4-inch tart mold. Trim of excess and prick the center with a fork. Blind bake* shells at 375° until they begin to take on color. Remove from oven and cool.
*Blind bake means to bake a crust without any filling.

Chocolate filling
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup whole milk
3 1/2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a saucepan, combine milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, add chocolate and stir until melted. Set aside to cool until lukewarm then add the egg and whisk until completely blended.
Pour batter into pastry shells. Place in center of the oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the filling is slightly firm, but still trembles in the middle. Remove, set on a wire rack and let cool.

Triple cream
2 cups granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons cake flour
1 cup +2 tablespoons whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split-scraped
2 1/2 ounces Maltimus Maximus* chocolate, grated
1 leaf gelatin
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup powdered sugar



To make pastry cream, whisk together1 cup of the sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until pale and a ribbon is formed. Whisk the flour into the mixture.
In a small pot place the remaining sugar, 1/2 of the vanilla bean and the milk. Bring to a simmer. Pour in 1/3 of the warm milk into the egg mixture while stirring constantly. Pour all back into the milk and continue to stir until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
Bloom the gelatin in cold water until completely soft. Squeeze out excess water and add to warm pastry cream. Whisk in Maltimus Maximus chocolate.
In a mixer fitter with a whisk, whip the cream with the remaining vanilla seeds to soft peak. Gradually add powdered sugar until it holds mediums peaks. Fold into pastry cream.

To serve
Chocolate sauce, optional
Shaved chocolate, as needed

Carefully ladle a spoon of chocolate sauce in the middle of the plate. Plate a tart on the sauce. Top with triple cream and garnish with shaved chocolate.

*Maltimus Maximus available from Cocoa Pete?s, www.cocoapetes.com