How to Make a Smooth Bournville Ganache Tart at Home

This Bournville chocolate ganache tart is simple in steps but serious in payoff. A dark chocolate base, filled with soft-set ganache, finished with sea salt. No eggs, no flour, no water baths. Bournville works well here: it’s dark enough to carry the weight without being sharp or sour. This isn’t a cake, and it’s not candy either. It sits somewhere in the middle: cold, dense, clean slices that hold up without falling apart. If you cut it right and chill it properly, it looks like more effort than it takes.

Bournville Chocolate Ganache Tart

(Serves 12)

Equipment:

• 10-inch tart pan

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (Oreos, chocolate cookies, or chocolate graham crackers)
• 4 tbsp butter, melted

For the ganache:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 12 ounces Bournville dark chocolate, roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp butter, room temperature (cut into 1 tablespoon pieces)
• 1 tbsp flaky sea salt

For the whipped cream (optional):

• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• A pinch of salt
• Powdered sugar, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. If making your own crumbs, pick the chocolate cookies, wafers, chocolate graham crackers, or Oreos and add them to a food processor. Grind them down and measure out 1 1/2 cups pf the crumbs. Mix with the melted butter until everything is evenly coated and moist and resembles wet sand.
3. Transfer the crumbs to a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, pullinand the mixture up the sides, until compact and even. Using the bottom of a flat glass tumbler or bowl.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Set it aside to cool.
5. Let’s make the ganache next, for that. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan until it starts to simmer. Do not let it boil; scalding hot just about works.
6. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, and let sit for a few minutes.
7. Then whisk or mix the ganache until smooth and shiny. Add the butter, one piece at a time, mixing a you add until velvety smooth.
8. Pour the ganache into the tart shell. Carefully transfer to the refrigerator to set for at least 2-3 hours.
9. Once it has set, scatter sea salt over the top to keep it from sinking into the chocolate.
10. Next, to make the whipped cream, whip the cream, vanilla paste, salt, and sugar in a bowl until soft peaks form and decorate.

Tips & Tricks:

• When grinding cookies or crackers for the crust, stop once you reach small, even crumbs. Powdered crumbs turn into sludge when mixed with butter and won’t hold their shape.
• Use something flat and solid, like the base of a glass. Press down hard, especially along the edge where the base meets the sides. Loose corners and patchy pressure show up when you try to slice.
• Warm crust plus warm ganache equals a soggy base. Leave the shell alone until it’s stone cold. Rushing it means the filling and crust blend in a way that makes slicing a mess.
• If the chocolate chunks are too big, the cream will cool before the chocolate melts. Once that happens, you’re stuck. Reheating the mix ruins the finish. Go fine – think thin shards, not cubes.
• Boiled cream can split the fat or burn the chocolate. Just bring it to the point where steam rises and bubbles form around the edge. That’s hot enough.
• Once you pour the cream over the chocolate, leave it alone for a few minutes. No stirring. You’re giving the heat time to melt everything evenly. Stirring too early makes the ganache dull and streaky.
• Add the butter one piece at a time, fully melted before the next goes in. This isn’t just about mixing – it’s what gives the filling its final body. Dumping it all at once leaves greasy patches or a broken finish.
• Set the tart in the fridge without wrapping it. If you cover it while it’s still warm or soft, condensation forms and gives you a wet top layer. Let it cool uncovered for an hour before covering loosely.
• Don’t saw through. Run the blade under hot water, wipe it dry, and cut in one clean motion. Repeat for each slice. If you rush this part, the ganache pulls and the crust breaks.
• If you sprinkle sea salt too early, it dissolves into the surface. Wait until the tart is firm, then scatter a small pinch over the top. It stays visible, doesn’t melt, and gives the right hit when you bite down.