Pairing pomegranates with chocolate is one of those great flavor combinations that is not seen often but so obvious once you try it, you’ll wonder why you don’t have it all the time. The pomegranate’s tartness plus a little bit of chocolate goodness is a very happy combination for this Chocolate Pomegranate Tart.
In the winter months, fruit desserts may seem less obvious, but there are still so many delicious fruits available this time of year.
Cranberries are a classic, like in these Cranberry Cream Cheese Danish or this Cranberry Loaf, but there’s not many other winter fruits out there! That’s why I love this chocolate pomegranate tart. Pomegranates shine this time of year.
Pomegranates, the Most Exciting Fruit
If you’re anything like me, you’ve put off dealing with fresh pomegranates as long as possible. But if you are also like me, you’ll realize they are easy to conquer, just maybe wear an old red shirt the first time, just in case.
The pomegranate curd is best with fresh juice, but if you can’t find fresh whole pomegranates, you can often find the “arils” or seeds sold pre-packaged. I have also tested this recipe with bottled pomegranate juice and it absolutely still works, but truthfully fresh is best.
How to Make Fresh Pomegranate Juice
- Cut out the top crown. Score the pomegranate in four sections and break apart.
- In a large bowl of water, pull out the arils (or seeds). Doing this under water stops any rouge juice squirts.
- Stain the seeds from the water, remove any bits of white membrane or bad seeds.
- Placed seeds in a blender and pulse only a few times. Blending too much will pulverize the skins and make for a cloudy juice.
- Stain the juice and it’s ready for use! 2 pomegranates makes approximately 1 cup of juice.
Now that you have your beautiful pomegranate juice, we’ll make a curd using egg yolks and gelatin to help the everything set so it’s sliceable as a tart.
You may notice that the jewel tones of the pomegranate turn a little dingy mauve-y after making the curd, so I added a few drops of red food coloring to bring back those vibrant reds. It’s not necessary and purely for aesthetic, but pretty pastries are the goal!
Tart Dough Tips and Tricks
When making your tart dough, there is two large things to remember to make the best little dough there is:
First, don’t add more flour than necessary to roll to end up with a tough shell. To roll the dough out, you want to make sure the butter is chilled but not cold solid.
You want it malleable, but not sticky. Rolling the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap helps avoid any additional sticking. Plus, transferring to the tart pan is easier using the plastic wrap, so win-win!
Second, cold dough is the key to avoid the shell shrinking in the oven. It’s tempting to slide the dough directly into the oven after rolling, but trust me, chill that baby down – this time cold solid!
Doing this means the dough will set in place before the butter has time to melt in the oven and ensure that your shell doesn’t shrink or slide down the pan.
Helpful Tools
- A Rectangular Tart Pan has a lot of visually dramatic impact.
- Handle-free Rolling Pins are the best of even dough rolling.
- Rolling Pin Guides make sure your dough is even and same height across the board.
Chocolate Pomegranate Tart
Equipment
- 4" x 14.5" rectangle tart pan
Ingredients
Tart Dough
- 113 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 57 g confectioners' sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 21 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Pomegranate Curd
- ½ teaspoon powdered gelatin
- ¾ cup pomegranate juice
- 149 g egg yolks from approx. 8-10 large eggs, room temperature
- 297 g granulated sugar
- 113 g unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- red food coloring optional
Instructions
- Tart Dough:In the bowl of a food processor, combine butter and sugar. Blend until combined, scraping down bowl as needed.113 g unsalted butter, 57 g confectioners' sugar
- Add egg, blending until combined.1 large egg
- Add flour, cocoa powder and salt, pulsing until just combined.180 g all-purpose flour, 21 g unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Turn dough out onto sheet of plastic wrap, kneading slightly to ensure no streaks of butter remain. Pat into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- When ready to roll, lightly dust both sides of dough and roll between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. This will help to prevent sticking and adding more flour than needed.
- Roll to the size of tart pan. Gently move dough by placing over the rolling pin and transferring to pan. Using your fingers, gently press the dough into all corners. Trim any excess dough from the top of pan.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- When dough is ready to bake, remove plastic wrap, pierce dough multiple times using a fork, and bake until browned, 14-16 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool until curd is ready
- Pomegranate Curd:Sprinkle powdered gelatin over pomegranate juice and let stand while continuing through step 2.1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin, 3/4 cup pomegranate juice
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and butter over low heat until butter is melted.149 g egg yolks, 297 g granulated sugar, 113 g unsalted butter
- Add pomegranate juice with gelatin and salt, whisking constantly over medium low heat until the curd has thickened and reached 190ºF. Do not over cook to avoid scrambled eggs.1/4 teaspoon salt
- When curd is ready, strain through a sieve, add food coloring if using and transfer to prepared tart shell.red food coloring
- Chill for 6 hours or overnight.
- Top using pomegranate arils, raspberries, melted chocolate, etc.
Notes
- Tart dough can be prepared ahead and frozen either baked or unbaked. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
Disclaimer: We test all recipes using the metric weights shown, we cannot guarantee outcomes when switching to US measurements.
