As the evenings draw in earlier and earlier, we look to all things sweet and boozy to comfort us through the long, dark nights! To lift our spirits in the dark evenings, we’ve put together this wickedly good recipe for a dark chocolate tart, layered with a boozy gin-infused blackberry filling!

It’s perfect for autumn and winter, and it makes for a fantastic Halloween baking recipe with all its dark delights - especially if you pair it with a Halloween cocktail or two (you can find our top 10 Halloween cocktail recipes right here!).

Gin-spiked Dark Chocolate & Blackberry Tart

Ingredients
Blackberry layer:
150g blackberries
75ml gin
1tbsp sugar (remove if using sloe gin)

Tart:
450g dark chocolate
280ml single cream
175ml milk
1 ½ tbsp sugar
1tsp vanilla seeds
3 eggs plus 1 yolk, whisked
300g chocolate pastry*
Blackberries and ice cream, to serve

Method
Preheat your oven to 150C/300F/Gas 4. Now, make your blackberry layer by combining 150g of blackberries, 75ml of gin and 1 tbsp of sugar in a bowl. Mash with a fork and set aside. In another bowl, break your chocolate into chunks. Set aside.

Combine milk and cream in a saucepan over a medium heat. Boil, add 1 ½ tbsp sugar and stir until dissolved. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until melted and fully incorporated. Cool slightly, then add the vanilla and the eggs, including the extra yolk.

Roll your pastry out until it’s about 5mm thick. Use it to line a tart tin around 28cm tart tin. Layer baking paper over the pastry and blind bake with rice or baking beads for 15 minutes. Remove the beads and paper, then bake for a further five minutes.

Turn the oven down to 115C/230F/Low. Take the tart from the oven and spoon your macerated blackberries into the case, spreading to the edges of the tart. Pour over the chocolate mixture and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling has set. You’re looking for a slight wobble.

Cool to room temperature and serve with a sprinkling of fresh blackberries and a generous spoon of ice cream.

*You can go for the easy option here and buy pre-prepared sweet shortcrust pastry! Simply tear 300g off and add to a food processor along with three or four tablespoons of cocoa (depending on how dark and rich you want it) and blitz.

If you enjoyed this, why not try..

• Boozy chocolate orange meringue pie

• Spiced pear, gin and ginger upside-down cake

• 10 of our most delicious boozy bakes & gin-soaked cake recipes