Chocolate Bailey's Velvet Crunch Tart

This tart always goes down well either as a decadent dessert or as a treat with a good cup of tea or coffee. It has a crumbly, buttery biscuit base and a dark, smooth chocolate truffle-like layer, it is heaven on a dessert plate, oh, did I mention... no baking required here, just make and chill... deep joy! It can be finished with Dark Chocolate shavings or Chopped Pistachio Nuts, as pictured here.

Here's what you need:

An 8 inch (20cm) deep, round loose bottom baking tin
Bake-o-Glide Cake Tin Liner or Buttered Greaseproof Paper

For the base:
265g Digestive Biscuits
150g Melted Butter
Pinch of salt

For the Velvet Truffle Layer:

100ml Double Cream
50ml Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur
75g Butter
150g Dark Chocolate (90% Cocoa Solids is best)
150g Milk Chocolate

Shavings of Dark Chocolate or Chopped Pistachio Nuts to decorate.

Here's what you do...
Grind up the digestive biscuits in a food processor or put them in a food bag and give them a bash with a rolling pin, stir in a small pinch of salt. Melt the butter over a gentle heat, you want it to be just melted and not cooked. Stir in the crushed biscuits, mix well. Pour into the lined baking tin and press the mixture down gently and evenly, don't press it too hard otherwise you'll have it flying across the room when you try to cut it!

Let it cool and then chill the base in the fridge for an hour.

For the truffle layer, break up the chocolate into small pieces, pour the cream and Bailey's into a small saucepan and heat very gently, take it off the heat just before it comes to the boil, pop in the butter and stir until it has melted. Put back on to the heat and take it off again just before it reaches boiling point again. Pop the chocolate in and keep stirring until the mixture is silky, shiny and smooth. Leave it to rest for 5 minutes then pour over the biscuit base. Let it cool completely and then put into the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Grate a couple of squares of dark chocolate that have been chilled for a couple of hours in the fridge (stops your fingers getting too messy!) or chop some Pistachio Nuts in a food processor. Release the chilled tart from the tin, remove the lining from the bottom and place your chocolate creation onto a really nice serving plate. Sprinkle over the chocolate shavings or Pistachios (or both) and you're ready to go.

I always cut this delicious treat with a sharp knife dipped into very hot water and dried with kitchen paper, you get a really nice smooth cut through the chocolate that way. Dip and dry the knife for every cut.