Ingredients
For the dough
260 g of Soft wheat flour type 1
90 g of icing sugar
110 g of cold butter
1 egg
A pinch of salt

For the mousse
150 g of dark chocolate 50%
120 ml of milk
250 ml of fresh liquid cream
3 g of gelatine
 
For the French meringue
50 g of egg white at room temperature
100 g of caster sugar
2 drops of lemon juice
 
To decorate
50 g of dark chocolate
Icing sugar to taste
100 g of fresh raspberries
 
Directions
For the dough
To start, pour the powders and the very cold butter cut into cubes into a large bowl, then proceed by rubbing the ingredients together with your hands until you obtain a mixture with a sandy consistency. Add the egg and continue kneading with your hands. When the mixture is smooth and homogeneous, form it into a ball and place in the fridge for about two hours. After the resting time has elapsed, take the dough and roll it out to a thickness of 2 mm with the help of a rolling pin, then place in the freezer for another 15 minutes. Now take the shortcrust pastry and use it to cover a 20 cm diameter micro-perforated ring, then chill in the fridge for a further two hours. After the cooling time has elapsed, use a sharp knife to trim the surface of the cake to the level of the ring. You will need the remaining shortcrust pastry to make biscuits and decorate your tart. Preheat the oven to 170°C in static mode and bake the tart base for 20 minutes. Then take it out of the oven and remove the ring, taking care not to break the pastry, and bake again for another 5-10 minutes. While you let your cake cool on a wire rack, bake the biscuits as well and bake for 20 minutes, at 170°C.

For the light chocolate mousse
Take some gelatine and soften it in cold water. Separately, heat the milk in a saucepan and, with the heat switched off, add the well-drained gelatine and the chopped chocolate. Continue stirring all the ingredients well until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture. After it has cooled, add the whipped cream and stir gently from the bottom up, taking care not to disassemble the mousse.

For the meringue
In the bowl of a planetary mixer whip the egg whites with a whisk until frothy, then add the sugar and lemon drops and whisk until stiff for another 8-10 minutes. When you have obtained a shiny, bird's-beak-proof mixture, transfer it to three piping bags with different types of nozzles. Separately, line a baking tray with baking paper and dress the meringues on top, then bake them in the preheated oven, set at 90°C, for two and a half to three hours. They should dry out while remaining dry and crispy. If you see that they have not yet reached this stage, continue baking for another half an hour. Then take them out of the oven and leave them to cool.

Assembling the cake
Place the pastry shell on a serving plate, brush the inside with melted chocolate and leave to cool until solid. Pour the chocolate mousse inside the pastry shell and let it cool in the fridge for a few hours, then decorate the edge of the cake by alternating raspberries and meringues and the centre with heart-shaped biscuits. Sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.



In collaboration with Deliziosa Virtù