Need a last minute dessert for entertaining during the holidays? Try this recipe Chocolate Pecan tart. Flaky crust filled with pecan pie filling with mini chocolate chips is baked in a 9″ tart pan.
Serve this tart for any holiday, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Valentines Day. Easy recipe with rich pecan filling dotted with chocolate chips. After the tart is baked whip up a batch of fresh heavy cream flavored with ground cinnamon for a great whipped cream. Small slices make this tart the perfect ending to a large or intimate meal. Little bit of chocolate, little bit of sweet and warm flavor of toasted pecans. Yum!
How to Make the Chocolate Pecan Tart
You will need 1/2 cup pecans, chopped, dark corn syrup, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, semi sweet chocolate chips, heavy cream for whipped cream. Cream Cheese for crust or refrigerated pie crust. You will also need 9″ spring form tart pan.
Note: If you would like a shortcut, use refrigerated pie dough for the crust or you can make this tart with a cream cheese.
Making the crust using cream cheese
Combine softened butter & cream cheese with flour in large mixing bowl. Beat with mixer to blend together. Add salt and flavoring. Dough will be stiff and come together into a ball. If dough sticky place in refrigerator to chill before proceeding to roll out. Pat dough into a round flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill up to 30 minutes.
Remove from refrigerator, discard plastic wrap and on confectioner sugar surface roll dough to 1/4″ thickness 10″ around. Note: It is easier to roll dough with dough placed between two sheets of parchment paper. It’s ok if you have to piece the dough in the pan. No worries.
Place the chilled 10″ round into the prepared tart pan. Pressing the dough up the sides of pan and leveling off. Place dough in refrigerator to chill while making the filling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure your oven rack is in the middle of the oven.
Preparing the filling
In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter, gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add beaten eggs, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Mix well. In medium bowl, add chocolate chips, pecans and flour. Toss in 2 tablespoons of flour to this mix.
The flour will help keep the chips from melting too fast and coat pecans for great filling. Add this mix to the batter, carefully fold in to blend together. Use a rubber spatula to fold in chips to batter. Pour filling into chilled crust, smooth top. Cover top of pie with foil to prevent early browning. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until pie center is set. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes if top of pie is not browned.
Remove from oven, let cool before serving. I like to serve this pie with cinnamon home made whipped cream. To make the whipped cream, In a chilled medium bowl, add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar. Whip on high speed until medium peaks, add clear vanilla, creme bouquet, or orange extract. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Cinnamon is optional. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form or as desired. Pipe dollops or place cream in a side bowl for self serving.
Chocolate Pecan Tart
Cream cheese flaky crust is filled with chocolate chips, pecan pie filling and baked in a 9″ tart pan. Served with fresh made whipped cream flavored with ground cinnamon.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 -small sliced servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Crust
1/2 cup butter, softened, no substitutes
1–3 ounce package cream cheese
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon creme bouquet or vanilla extract
1/4 cup confectioners sugar for rolling out dough
Chocolate Pecan Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened no substitutes
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, can use mini or regular, add 1 cup if using mini
1/2 cup chopped pecans + 2 tablespoons flour
Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon creme bouquet or vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon-optional
Instructions
Cream cheese crust- Combine butter, cream cheese and flour in large mixing bowl. Add salt and flavoring. Beat on low speed to mix ingredients. You can also use a food processor with steel blade for quicker dough, just don’t process too long. Flatten dough into a round 1/2″ disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Lightly spray springform 9″ tart pan with removable bottom with cooking spray. Set aside.
Remove chilled dough, remove wrap and dust counter with reserved 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, roll chilled dough into a 10″ round shape. Or roll dough between two sheets of parchment paper into your 10″ round. Place dough inside tart pan pressing up sides and bottom of pan. Level edges of dough around edges of pan. Place in refrigerator to chill while making filling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place oven rack in center of oven.
Make Chocolate Pecan Filling
- In large mixing bowl, cream butter and gradually add sugar, beat until light and fluffy about 3-4 minutes.
- Add beaten eggs, corn syrup, salt and extract. Mix well.
- In medium bowl, mix chips, pecans and flour together, toss to evenly coat. Add this to the butter mixture. Use a rubber spatula to fold ingredients as not to break up pecans and chips.
- Remove chilled dough from refrigerator and fill with pecan chip filling. Cover with alum foil to prevent top from browning to fast.
- Place in preheated oven at 350 for 45 minutes or until filling is set. Remove foil and brown top additional 5 minuets if top isn’t browned.
- Allow tart to cool before serving, serve with whipped cream.
Making Whipped Creme
In chilled medium mixing bowl, whip heavy cream and confectioners sugar with whisk attachment for 3-4 minutes until soft peaks form, add flavoring and ground cinnamon. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. Serve whipped cream on the side in serving dish for self serving or dollop onto center of pie.
Notes
- Pie can be made ahead one day or baked and frozen for up to 7 days. If freezing do not add whipped cream.
- Coating chocolate chips and pecans with flour will help with filling thickness and keep chips from melting too fast.
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