A crispy chocolate cookie crust filled with the most melt-in-your-mouth Irish cream chocolate truffle filling and crowned with a creamy espresso-infused whipped cream!
March is in full swing, which means that good ol’ St. Patty’s Day is just around the corner!
While most people look forward to drinking the night away in a smelly dive bar or some whole-in-the-wall tavern downtown, I’d much rather spend the evening in with a good dessert. Preferably something CHOCOLATE-y. And if it’s spiked with a little (or a lot of) Irish cream, EVEN better…
That’s why this Irish Cream Chocolate Tart would make the perfect dessert to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
With an incredibly velvety Irish cream-infused chocolate truffle filling and lusciously creamy espresso whipped cream, this tart is every little leprechaun’s dream come true. Without a doubt, you’ll be melting further and further into your chair with each and every heavenly bite.
Thanks to the fact that it’s no-bake, this tart could not be any easier to make. It starts off with a simple Oreo cookie crust. Just crush up some Oreos, toss them with a little melted butter, and press it evenly into a tart pan. Make sure that your pan has a removable bottom too!
To make the filling, you’ll combine some semi-sweet (dark) chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips in a bowl. To prevent the tart from being overly sweet, I used a 4:1 ratio of semi-sweet chocolate and milk chocolate. And to deepen the flavors of both chocolates, a little bit of instant espresso powder is added to the filling.
The Irish cream, heavy cream, and butter are heated together in a saucepan until they just begin to simmer. This should only take a few minutes. Try to avoid boiling it since overheating the cream can cause it to separate and curdle. Once the cream is hot, pour it over the chocolate and allow it to sit for a minute or two while the cream softens the chocolate. Stir the mixture until smooth and satiny, then pour it right into the crust. The tart requires at least 4 hours in the refrigerator to set/firm up. However, if you want to decrease the wait time, you can chill it in the freezer.
Once the tart has had its beauty rest, it’s time to remove it from the pan. The best way to do this is to place the tart on top of a sturdy object that’s just a little smaller than the tart pan–I used a bowl. Now supposedly, the sides of the tart pan are supposed to slide right off of the tart if you give it a little pressure with your fingers. However, my tart pan seemed to be glued to my tart. Wonderful…
Luckily, the solution to my problem was in my bathroom: a hairdryer. If you find yourself in the same predicament, just turn your hairdryer on to low and aim it toward the sides of the tart pan. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of cycles around the entire pan. The warmth of the hot air will loosen the sides, making it much easier to slide the tart pan off. I know, I’m a genius…
The last piece of this divinely chocolatey puzzle is the espresso whipped cream. Simply whip up some heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add some powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla, and a little instant espresso powder. If you don’t have espresso powder, you can also use instant coffee powder. Continue whipping the cream until it’s nice and fluffy, then either spread it or pipe it onto the tart.
And because there’s no so such thing as too much chocolate, right after slicing a piece of the tart, I dusted it with some cocoa powder. Not only does it add more richness, but it also gives off a more fancy schmancy appearance, don’t you think?
There’s just something so elegant about a classic chocolate tart. To me, the tart is like the sophisticated sister of pie. It’s thinner, more sumptuous, and fabulously chic–everything that describes this blissfully divine tart.
Irish Cream Chocolate Tart
Ingredients
Crust:
- 25 Oreos
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Filling:
- 1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- â…” cup heavy cream
- â…“ cup Irish Cream (I used Bailey's)
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon instant espresso powder
Espresso Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- â…“ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- Cocoa Powder for dusting
Instructions
Make the Crust:
- Place the Oreos in a large ziplock bag, seal, and crush with a rolling pin. Alternatively, cookies can be crushed in a food processor. Pour crushed cookies into a bowl, add the melted butter, and mix with a fork. Press crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan.
Make the Filling:
- Place the semi-sweet and milk chocolate into a medium bowl; set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the heavy cream, Irish Cream, and butter until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and whisk in the espresso powder until combined. Pour mixture over the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, stir mixture until completely smooth. If you still see bits of unmelted chocolate, heat in the microwave at 15-second intervals until completely melted.
- Pour the filling into the crust. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until firm and set.
Make the Espresso Whipped Cream:
- In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on high until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder, and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.
- Transfer whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe whipped cream on top of chocolate tart.
- To serve, slice chocolate tart into pieces, and dust each slice with cocoa powder.
Notes
- Tart will keep, covered well, for up to 5 days in the fridge.