• Articles

This Valentine’s Day, Try the ‘Love Bite Tart’ — at Home or Oceana Coastal Kitchen

Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to indulge in a sweet treat — and this “Love Bite Tart” recipe might be just the thing you’re craving.

The Love Bite Tart was developed by Bryan Stuppy, the executive chef at Oceana Coastal Kitchen in Pacific Beach. It combines delicious bittersweet chocolate ganache with strawberry coulis and is topped with a chocolate-dipped strawberry.

Throughout his career, Chef Bryan has helped lead the kitchens of luxury hotels, worked with world-class chefs across the world, and even cooked for well-known names like Hollywood celebrities — and even President Barack Obama. He became the Executive Chef at Oceana Coastal Kitchen in September 2024.

The Love Bite Tart is his creation, developed specifically for the curated Valentine’s Day menu at Oceana Coastal Kitchen, the signature beachfront restaurant at the Catamaran. It will be available for one day only at the restaurant.

Chef Bryan is sharing the recipe for any lovebirds who want to make the delectable dessert for a special someone. But, if you’d rather let the chef do all the work and enjoy a romantic and relaxing beachfront dining experience, you can call 858-539-8635 or visit this link to book a table at Oceana.

LOVE BITE TART

Ingredients:

Chocolate Short Crust Dough

• 200g all-purpose flour plain flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 50g powdered sugar icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 110g unsalted butter cold and cubed
• 1 large egg, whisked

Chocolate Ganache Filling

• 8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (approx. 228g)
• 1 cup heavy cream

Strawberry Coulis

• 1 lb strawberries, stems removed
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Garnish

• 6-10 strawberries, washed, stem on
• 1 ½ cup chocolate, semisweet or bittersweet
• Optional: sprinkles, pearls, etc.

PART 1 – Tart Shell – (store bought can work just as well)

Steps 1 & 2 can be done with a food processor or by hand:

Crust (food processor)

1. Combine dry ingredients – Add the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and blitz for 20 seconds to combine.
2. Add butter and egg – Add the vanilla extract and butter and pulse until you reach lentil sized pieces. Add the whisked egg and blitz until small clumps of dough form.

Crust (by hand)

1. Combine dry ingredients – Add the flour, powdered sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl and use a whisk to combine.
2. Add butter and egg – Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub into the butter until it resembles flattened breadcrumbs. Add the whisked egg and vanilla extract and use a spatula to mix in until the dough begins to clump together and becomes too hard to mix with the spatula.
3. Form dough ball and chill – Turn the mixture out on your workbench and bunch it together (without kneading). Form a rough disc shape and then wrap in plastic. Chill for a minimum of 1 hour.
4. Roll out dough – Lightly dust your workbench and rolling pin with flour. Place the chilled dough disc on the workbench and lightly dust the top with flour. Use a rolling pin to slowly roll dough disc out to 14 inches wide. Turn your dough as you roll and pinch together any cracks that might form around the edges as you roll.
5. Transfer dough over tin – Carefully roll over the rolling pin and then transfer and unroll over a 10-inch tart tin with removable bottom.
6. Form the tart – Carefully lift the dough over the tart to allow it to naturally fall into the corners of the tart. You don’t want to stretch it or it will shrink as it bakes and become uneven. Roll the rolling pin over the excess dough to cut clean. Discard excess dough.
7. Dock the tart – Place the tart tin on a baking tray. Use a fork to prick holes into the bottom of the tart shell. This is called ‘docking’ and will prevent your tart from puffing up too much as it bakes the second time.
8. Chill your tart – Place the formed tart in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
9. Preheat a convection oven to 300F (340F for no fan).
10. Blind baking your tart shell – Scrunch up a large piece of baking paper and then un-scrunch it. Place on the inside of the tart dough. Fill with baking beads, dried chickpeas or dry rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven, carefully and slowly lift out the beads using the corners of the baking paper. Place them into a bowl or container to cool down for re-use. Bake for an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown, allow to cool before adding filling.

PART 2 – FILLING – Chocolate Ganache

1. Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to gently simmer. (Do not let it come to a rapid boil) Pour over chocolate, then let it sit for 2–3 minutes to gently soften the chocolate.
2. With a metal spoon or small silicone spatula, very slowly stir until completely combined and chocolate has melted. The finer you chopped the chocolate, the quicker it will melt with the cream.
3. Ganache can be ready to use as a drizzle, or you can let it sit at room temperature to cool and thicken. It will fully cool within 2 hours. Refrigerating speeds this up, but the ganache will not cool evenly. Stir it a few times as it sets in the refrigerator, so it remains even and smooth.
4. Once completely cool and thick, the ganache can be piped with a piping tip or scooped with a spoon. You can also beat the cooled thickened ganache with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until light in color and texture, about 4 minutes on medium-high speed.

PART 3 – TOPPING – Strawberry Coulis

1. Wash strawberries and hull. Slice in quarters.
2. Place all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat. 
3. Stir occasionally while strawberries start releasing their juices. Bring to low boil, simmer for 15 minutes.  Mash with wooden spoon as they break down.  
4. Cool completely before using for another recipe.

PART 4 – GARNISH – Chocolate Covered Strawberry

1. Melt chocolate in bowl using a double boiler. (Sauce pan of slow-boiling water with a glass or metal bowl that fits on top of the pan). Make sure all chocolate is melted smooth. Use rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Line a small sheet tray or plate with parchment paper. 
3. Grip strawberries by their stem and dip in chocolate, swirling to cover most of the flesh.  
4. Hold strawberry over the bowl and let excess chocolate drip off.  Lightly place onto parchment lined plate/tray.  If you want to add sprinkles or other garnish, do so now, before the chocolate sets. 
5. Place covered strawberries in fridge for at least 10 minutes for chocolate to completely set and harden. 

PART 5 – ASSEMBLY

1. Spread chocolate ganache evenly into tart shell with a rubber spatula.  Leave enough space for strawberry coulis to be placed on top.  Refrigerate at least 20-30 minutes to allow the ganache to firm.
2. Spread coulis on top of ganache, covering all surfaces.  
3. Place chocolate covered strawberries evenly on top of tart.  Each slice will have 1 strawberry to garnish. Refrigerate tart to set.
4. Cut into desired serving size. Serve. If you have any remaining coulis, you can brush it on the plate before placing a slice of tart down.  
5. Enjoy!

Media credit: Images courtesy of catamaranresort.com