Gregoire Michaud’s Chocolate Sabayon Tart With Griottes And Liquorice Compote

After so many years baking, this sabayon tart is still one of my favourites, especially served with a fruit compote. Here I used sour cherries, slightly caramelised, with a stick of liquorice root as a partner in crime to the bitter chocolate. 

–  Gregoire Michaud

Chocolate Sabayon Tart With Griottes And Liquorice Compote

Ingredients:

For the sweet dough

190g white sugar
300g butter
120g eggs
520g cake flour
A pinch of salt

For the sabayon

2 eggs
6 egg yolks
50g white sugar
140g liquid cream
15g cake flour
130g melted dark chocolate

For the griottes and liquorice compote

140g pitted griottes (sour cherries), if possible frozen
20g white sugar
1 stick of liquorice root

Method:

To make the sweet dough

1. Mix the butter and sugar until it has a pomade texture. Add the eggs one by one until well blended. Finally add the flour and the pinch of salt. Mix it into smooth dough.

2. Once done, wrap it in a plastic film and allow to rest in the fridge for about 3 hours before using. When chilled, roll the dough at 2 mm thick and make the tart. Punch some holes in it and and bake it at 200 degrees Celsius for 12 minutes.

To make the sabayon

1. Boil the cream, melt the chocolate in it and mix until smooth.

2. Whip eggs and yolks with the sugar into a foam, until you obtain a ribbon texture. Add the flour into the eggs and, finally, fold in the chocolate mixture.

3. Pour the sabayon into the tart and bake for 6 minutes at 190 degrees Celsius. The point of the tart is to actually under-bake it so the centre stays soft and runny.

To make the compote

1. Hammer the liquorice root in order to open it a bit and release the flavours.

2. Caramelise the sugar to a dark amber with the liquorice root, add the frozen sour cherries and cook for about 3 minutes. The juice of the cherry will come out, and it will all blend into a perfect compote.

3. Serve it with a nice slice of the warm sabayon tart.

About Gregoire Michaud
After starting his career in his native Switzerland, Gregoire Michaud worked as a pastry chef in the USA before moving to Hong Kong to work at the Regent Hotel, where he fell in love with the city and with his wife Vianna. Though he left for stints to work at top restaurants in Dublin and the Maldives, he has since returned to Hong Kong and founded Bread Elements, an artisanal bakery supplying the city’s best dining venues. Gregoire is the author of 5 recipe books, including La Boulangerie and Never Skip Dessert. Visit gregoiremichaud.com

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