Cherry Chocolate Tart with Vanilla Cream

• This is a great mid-week dessert and fairly quick to make when you use ready made pastry.  Tinned black cherries are a very handy ingredient for the store cupboard, I also use them in chocolate brownies and trifle.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ingredients
  
  
  375g ready-made dessert pastry
  400g dark chocolate, at least 75% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
  2 egg yolks
  250 ml double cream
  1 x 400g tinned black cherries, drained
  3 tbsp cherry brandy
  
  
  For the vanilla cream
  
  
  
  250 ml double cream
  1 tsp vanilla paste
  25g sifted icing sugar
  
  
  Beat the cream, vanilla and icing sugar together until soft peaks are formed (be careful not to over whip it).  Chill it in the fridge until needed.
  
  
  Roll out the pastry to a round large enough to line an 8" loose bottom tart tin, leave a little extra all round. Place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
  
  
  Pre-heat the oven to 170C
  
  
  Prick the base of the chilled pastry all over with a fork and place it on the middle shelf of the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown then leave to cool on a wire rack.
  
  
  Heat the cream over a low gas until very hot but not to boiling point.  Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stir until melted then beat in the egg yolks.  Add the cherry brandy and stir well.
  
  
  Put the drained cherries in the bottom of the pastry case and pour the chocolate over them.
  
  
  Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes then remove and cool before transferring it to the fridge until needed.