Peppermint Bark and milk chocolate combine to create the decadent truffle-like filling for this cocoa tart from Erin Clarkson of the Cloudy Kitchen. Two-toned Swiss Meringue Buttercream kisses and visually striking shards of Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark finish off this showstopping dessert.
Want some peppermint bark of your own to recreate this recipe? Don’t miss out on our Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark giveaway!
Peppermint Bark and Milk Chocolate Tart with Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes 1 (9-inch) tart
Ingredients
- 10 ounces (300 grams) good-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped
- 1¾ cups (250 grams) chopped Peppermint Bark
- 3 tablespoons plus ½ teaspoon (45 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon (3 grams) vanilla bean paste
- 1 cup (240 grams) heavy whipping cream
- Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust (recipe follows)
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream (recipe follows)
- Garnish: chopped Peppermint Bark, red and white sprinkles
Instructions
- Place chocolate, Peppermint Bark, butter, salt, and vanilla bean paste in a large heatproof bowl.
- In a small saucepan, heat cream over low heat, stirring frequently, until it comes to a slight boil. Immediately pour hot cream over chocolate mixture. Cover bowl with a lid or plate. Let stand for 5 to 6 minutes; whisk vigorously to combine. (The mixture will look like it has split to begin with, but keep whisking—it will come together and become glossy.) Pour filling into prepared Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust. Refrigerate until filling has set completely, 1½ to 2 hours.
- Pipe* vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream over surface of tart in various sizes, arranging randomly. Top tart with chopped Peppermint Bark and sprinkles, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. To serve, cut using a hot, dry knife.
Notes
*Any medium or small French star piping tip will work. I used Wilton #199 Open Star Piping Tip and Wilton #4B Open Star Piping Tip.
Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust
Makes 1 (9-inch) crust
Ingredients
- 2 sleeves (3 cups or 290 grams) graham crackers or similar biscuit
- ¼ cup (35 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons (36 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) vanilla bean paste
- ½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
- ½ cup plus 1½ tablespoons (135 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In the work bowl of a food processor, place graham crackers, cocoa, sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt; pulse until graham crackers resemble crumbs and mixture is well combined. Transfer to a large bowl; add melted butter, stirring to combine. Using a glass measuring cup, press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan. Place pan on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Let cool completely.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites (60 grams)
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227 grams) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ teaspoon (3 grams) vanilla bean paste
- 1.5 ounces (35 grams) 70% cacao dark chocolate, chopped
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, place egg whites and sugar. Heat over simmering water, whisking constantly, until mixture registers 160°F (71°C) on a candy thermometer and sugar is dissolved. Carefully transfer bowl to mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat egg white mixture at high speed until they are snowy white and fluffy, 8 to 10 minutes. Add cold butter, one cube at a time, beating until combined. (The mixture may look curdled, but just keep beating.) Once all butter is incorporated, beat at high speed for 10 minutes. Add vanilla bean paste, and beat until combined. Beat 2 to 3 minutes more. Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat at low speed for 1 minute to remove any air. Transfer half of buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a small French star tip such as an Ateco #865.
- Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add melted chocolate to remaining buttercream, and stir until well combined. Transfer to a second piping bag fitted with a French star tip.
This is a delicious recipe, not too difficult and a showstopper at a dinner party. However, I feel using peppermint bark to melt into the filling is a bit extravagant (although I know the point was to make a recipe using Williams Sonoma’s peppermint bark). Instead, I melted 3/4 C dark chocolate, 3/4 C white chocolate, and 1/4 C crushed candy canes with the milk chocolate and butter in step one.
I followed the Swiss Meringue Buttercream instructions precisely. I ended up with a frosting that was too soft to pipe. I suspect the recipe didn’t allow enough time for the egg white mixture to cool. Any tips for next time? Aside from the buttercream, the tart came out perfect!
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for reaching out! We are happy to hear that the tart came out delicious, and sorry to hear that the buttercream was still too soft! With Swiss Meringue Buttercream, you can place the bowl of icing in the refrigerator until the icing starts to stiffen just around the sides of the bowl (about 20 minutes), but don’t let it harden all the way. Remove the bowl and beat the buttercream again. The goal is for the buttercream to be around 73 degrees F, as this is the smoothest, most pipable consistency. Hope this helps and happy baking!