Mini Egg, chocolate-brownie and salted-caramel tart

Serves 6-8

For the pastry

— 160g unsalted butter — 75g unrefined golden

caster sugar

— 2 medium egg yolks — 230g plain flour, plus extra

for dusting

— 20g cocoa powder

For the brownie layer

— 50g unsalted butter

— 30g golden syrup

— 125g unrefined light

muscovado sugar

— 150g dark chocolate (70-75 per cent cocoa solids), broken into pieces

— 2 medium eggs

— 35g plain flour

For the salted-caramel layer — 50g unsalted butter

— 50g unrefined light

muscovado sugar

— ½ tsp Maldon sea salt — 50ml double cream

— 75g milk chocolate (35 per cent cocoa solids or above), broken into pieces

To decorate

— 500g coloured sugarcoated milk-chocolate Mini Eggs

Lightly cream together the butter and sugar for the pastry, in a stand mixer if you have one, or by hand. Add the egg yolks and 25ml water, and mix well.

Add the flour and cocoa powder together in two additions, mixing on a slow speed until all the flour has been incorporated. Don’t over-mix or the pastry will become tough and hard to roll. Scoop it out of the mixer and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for one hour.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and knead on a lightly floured work surface until smooth and pliable (this should only take about 30 seconds).

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 3mm – it is very thin, but be brave! You’ll need to work fast as the high butter content in the pastry means it will soften quickly.

Roll it out to a circle large enough to line a 20cm tart ring or loose-bottomed tin that’s 2.5cm deep, with an extra 2.5cm of pastry hanging over the edge. Put the pastry-lined tin in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas mark 4.

Take the tin out of the fridge and line the pastry with a crumpled circle of baking paper filled with baking beans or rice. Blind bake for 20 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further five minutes. Set aside.

Nudge up the oven temperature to 185C/165C fan/ gas mark 4½.

Meanwhile, melt together the butter, syrup and sugar for the brownie layer in a saucepan until bubbling. Take off the heat and add the chocolate, mixing well. Add the eggs and mix very well using a whisk.

Mix in the flour then pour this straight into the pastry case. Bake for 15 minutes then remove from the oven and trim off the excess pastry while it’s soft and warm, to make a clean edge. Allow to cool then refrigerate for an hour.

For the salted caramel, melt the butter, sugar and salt together in a pan and simmer gently for three minutes. Take off the heat and add the cream, whisking well, then add the milk chocolate and stir to melt.

Pour this over the chilled brownie layer, filling the tart case as high as you dare (any leftover caramel can be used to drizzle over the finished tart). Allow to cool, then refrigerate the tart for an hour, or until the caramel sets.

Decorate the top of the tart with Mini Eggs, covering the entire surface, and serve at room temperature.

The tart can be made in advance and stored at room temperature for 2-3 days.