Sweet Chocolate pizza: A Delicious and Chocolatey Dessert…
Easter is definitely a favorite holiday for sweet tooths: a riot of chocolate that delights young and old alike! To celebrate in a big way and pay homage to this ingredient, this year we were inspired by a Neapolitan classic: sweet cream pizza. We transformed this delicacy of shortbread pastry, lemon and black cherry cream into a riot of chocolate, and at the end of the magic we found ourselves enjoying a fabulous sweet cocoa pizza.
Ingredients :
Ingredients for the chocolate shortcrust pastry (for a 10-inch/26 cm pan):
- 45g (1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 320g (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 165g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 medium eggs
- 1.5g (1/3 teaspoon) baking powder
- 115g (1/2 cup) cold butter
Ingredients for the cream filling:
- 500g (2 cups) whole milk
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 4 egg yolks
- 155g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
- 15g (2 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
- 15g (2 tablespoons) cornstarch (cornflour)
- 100g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate chips
How to make Sweet Chocolate pizza:
- To prepare the sweet cocoa pizza as first thing, start by making the lemon cream. Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the grated zest of one lemon and bring it to a simmer. Meanwhile, separate the eggs and pour the yolks into a glass bowl. With the leftover egg whites you can make fantastic cat tongues. Now add the sugar into the yolks and mix quickly with a spatula.
- Also add the starch, flour and mix quickly until smooth and lump-free. When the milk has almost reached a boil, pour the newly prepared mixture directly into the saucepan, still on the heat and stir quickly with a whisk.
- Continue cooking, stirring constantly until the cream has thickened, then transfer it to a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap while the cream is still hot. Let your lemon cream cool to room temperature and then transfer it to the refrigerator until completely chilled. If you prefer to take advantage, you can prepare the cream a day in advance.
- At this point, take care of making the cocoa shortbread. Pour the flour, cocoa, preferably sifted baking powder, and butter cubes, cold from the refrigerator, into a large bowl.
- Start mixing everything with your hands, using mostly your fingertips, until you get a crumbly mixture then add the sugar, stir with a spatula and also pour in the lightly beaten eggs. Mix everything together and transfer the mixture to a pastry board. Continue to knead it quickly until it forms an even dough.
- Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. After this time has elapsed, transfer the loaf to a lightly floured pastry board and divide it into two parts, one twice the size of the other.
- Take the larger part and start rolling it out until it is 3 mm thick. Then roll the pastry around the rolling pin and transfer it quickly but gently to a previously buttered 26-cm mold.
- Let the pastry adhere to the edge by pressing it gently with your fingers, remove the excess dough with a small knife (knead the scraps again and add them to the pastry kept aside) and prick the bottom with the tines of a fork. Take the custard back from the refrigerator, add the chocolate chips and mix with a spatula until totally incorporated. Then pour the custard inside the bottom of the cake and level it so that it is spread evenly.
- Take the remaining shortcrust pastry and roll it out again until it is 3 mm thick. Transfer the shortcrust pastry over the cream using the rolling pin, and with the tines of a fork gently press down on the edges so that they seal together. Trim off the excess pastry and using a knife make cuts on the surface of the pie that will serve to allow the moisture to escape. Bake the sweet cocoa pizza cake in a preheated static oven at 180°C for 40 minutes (if using a fan oven preheat it to 160°C and bake for about 30-35 minutes, also depending on the power of your oven). Once cooked, take your sweet cocoa pizza out of the oven and let it cool before enjoying.
Bon Appetit!
