Chocolate Tart with Cocoa Whipped Cream

I have quite a few chocolate tart/pie recipes. But, when I was without internet connection recently, I found this one (ripped out of a magazine – probably Cooking Light or Food Network, but it’s ripped off the page so I can’t be sure). Worth adding to the options…

Ingredients

CRUST:

6-8 oz crushed chocolate wafer cookies

          (plus extra for garnishing, if desired)

3 T sugar

¼ tsp salt

6 T butter, melted

FILLING:

1 ½ C whole milk

4 egg yolks

¹/₃ C sugar

2 T cornstarch

1 T cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

TOPPING:

1 C cold heavy cream

2 T cocoa powder

3 T powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make crust: Crush (or process in a food processor) wafer cookies to fine crumbs. Stir in sugar and salt. Add melted butter, blending until the mixture starts to clump. Press to bottom of springform pan and slightly up the sides. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven; while still warm, use the back of a spoon to gently press any cracks together. Cool.

Make filling: Heat 1 C milk in saucepan just to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and ½ C milk in a large bowl. Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in hot milk until mixture is smooth. Transfer everything back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil and thickens (~5 minutes). Remove from heat; add chopped chocolate, whisking until melted. Pour filling into crust; smooth with spatula. Cover with plastic wrap (directly on top of filling to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate until cold and set (at least 2 hours).

Make topping: Whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and cocoa powder to soft peaks. Spread cocoa-whipped cream on tart. Garnish with additional cookie crumbs, if desired. (Or garnish with chocolate sprinkles, jimmies, etc.)