Food

Southern Palate: Elizabeth Grant’s Chocolate Buttermilk Benne Tart

Bring a taste of The Dunlin home with this seasonal favorite from Linnette’s, the hotel’s signature restaurant. Created by The Dunlin’s executive pastry chef Elizabeth Grant, this Chocolate Buttermilk Benne Tart is meant to be shared—a small taste of the Lowcountry, wherever you are.

Chocolate Buttermilk Benne Tart

1 Tart Crust:
Butter, soft 1/3 cup /75g
Powdered Sugar, sifted 1/2 cup /60g
Eggs 1 each / 50g
AP Flour 1 cup / 138g
Cocoa Powder 2.5T /22g
Benne Seeds 1.5T / 13g
Baking Powder 1/8t / .25g

1 Tart Filling:
Sugar 1 cup /230g
Brown Sugar 1/2 cup /99g
AP Flour 1/4 cup /40g
Cocoa Powder 2.5T /20g
Cornmeal 1.5T /17g
Salt 1/2t /1g
Eggs 3 each / 150g
Buttermilk 1/2 cup /125g
Butter, melted 1/2 cup /113g
Vanilla Paste 1t /5g

For Tart Crust:
• Cream butter and sifted powdered sugar.
• One by one add in eggs until incorporated Scrape down and remix.
• Whisk together the dries and add to the egg butter Mix well and scrape down.
• Remove from the bowl and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 300F.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out tart crust to 4mm thick.
• Transfer crust to lightly greased tart pan and press in evenly and clean edges with a knife.
• Chill for 20 minutes to avoid the tart shell falling down the sides.
• Bake at 350F for 12 minutes or until baked through.

For Tart Filling:
Whisk together all the dry ingredients.
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry except the butter.
Burr mix with an immersion blender the melted butter into the mix until smooth (being careful not to make air bubbles).
Pour filling into baked tart crust and top with untoasted benne seeds generously.
Bake 280F for 45-50 minutes until set and slightly puffed filling.
Let cool completely, chill and slice.