I had been craving a chocolate tart for the longest time before I actually made one for myself. I didn’t want something that was simply filled with a soft ganache, but something a little more wicked: something with lots of cream and butter and eggs.
To fulfill this long standing hankering, I found the perfect tart filling recipe on Traveler’s Lunchbox and used the tart base recipe from the Ottolenghi cookbook (a cookbook so colourful, and so refreshing, I wish I used it more often.). The filling turned out to be soft, silky, and intensely chocolate-y; I don’t think I’m going to need another recipe for a chocolate tart. The key to is blind bake the tart, cool it, and then add the filling and bake until the sides look puffed up and the centre is still mushy. I refrigerated mine because I wanted the centre to set, but if you’d like a soft centre, you can eat it while it’s still warm.
This basic recipe can be spruced up depending on what you feel like on a particular day, or what’s in season on your side of the world. I can imagine them tasting so good with fresh raspberries or strawberries and a dollop of softly whipped cream. Another option would be to use your favourite liqueur in the chocolate batter. I used some hazelnut extract I made which was fantastic.
But you know the best part about making this chocolate tart? Watching my petite grandmum (who has an apetite of a bird) polish off two slices of the tart after her dinner! She loved it so much that when I shared it with a few friends the next day, she made me bake some more.
Rich Chocolate Tart
Yield: 1 8-9 inch tart
Tart shell
Adapted from: The Ottolenghi Cookbook (USA | UK | India)
In case you’re looking for tips on making the perfect tart dough, head over to Pie Dough 101.
Ingredients:
12 0z (330g) plain flour
3.5oz (100g) icing sugar
6 oz (180g) butter
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp cold water
Chocolate Filling
Adapted from: The Traveler’s Lunchbox
Ingredients:
8 oz (225g) dark chocolate
6 tablespoons (90g) butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
1 teaspoon hazelnut extract
cocoa powder for dusting
Equipment:
a 9 inch (20-cm) tart pan
Pastry blender (optional)
Method:
- Put the flour and icing sugar into a bowl and rub the butter either with your finger with gentle, quick movements or with a pastry cutter until you achieve breadcrumb like texture. Add the egg yolks and cold water until the mixture comes together.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and knead gently. Flatten to form a thick disk and wrap it in cling film and chill it for at least an hour.
- Roll out the dough to 3-4 mm (1/8th inch) thickness and line the tart pan, making sure you press it well into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and fill it up with dried beans and bake in a preheated oven at 170C/340F for about 17-20 minutes until it looks slightly golden and firm. Let it cool.
- For the filling: Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth, then remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. Whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, and hazelnut extract in a bowl. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined.
- Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Bake until the filling 1 inch from edges is set and slightly puffed but center wobbles when pan is gently shaken, 20 to 25 minutes. (The center will continue to set as it cools.)
- Dust with cocoa powder when cool. Eat!
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I love chocolate truffles for two reasons:
- You have an excuse to grab the best chocolate in your pantry.
- Truffles freeze really well. This gives you a chance to make lots of them and simply freeze them. Just pull them out whenever you feel the sudden compulsive need to satiate your chocolate craving. Like right now, at 2 am on a quiet Friday morning.
Hey, I could lengthen this list, but you don’t really need any convincing to make chocolate truffles, do you?
Now some of you might think that truffle-making is a fancy art, one that only a pro-chocolatier is adept at. Wrong. With three simple ingredients (chocolate, cream and your choice of coating) and a basic understanding of the process, you will be on your way to rolling out the most stunning chocolate creations.
And with V-day just around the corner, you can make truffles as presents for your loved one…even if you don’t know how to cook! (Thank you, whoever you are. I’m going to assume you’re hanging around here for the photography and writing (maybe?), so I’m flattered.)
I’m always looking at trying out different newer varieties for my truffles, so I’ve listed a whole bunch of variations that might be worth a try. This list is nowhere close to being exhaustive. I’m going to constantly update this with newer ideas and flavour combinations, so do share what you have on your mind in the discussion below. You can get creative and make a flavour that suits you best. But please don’t make a truffle with rice crispies or citrus peel, dust it with matcha, and then come back and tell me that your girlfriend almost choked on it. However, if you work at
Patrick Roger’s and think this could be your next signature truffle (and maybe looking to hire someone), then
Comment ça va?!
Truffle Flavour variations:
To stir into cream:
- Alcohol – raspberry, kirsch, kahlua, baileys, Cointreau, grand marnier, Amaratto
- Pistachio paste
- Gianduja
- Caramel
Or for steeping in cream (bring the cream to a boil with any of the following, and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Bring it to a boil again to pour over chocolate):
- Espresso powder or any other flavouring powder you may want to include
- Citrus peel
- Fresh fragrant flowers like rose petals (I’m so excited to try this!)
- Hot Spices: ginger, chilli powder, black pepper
- Sweet Spices: vanilla beans, cinnamon, cardamom
- Herbs: lemongrass, mint, rosemary, lemon balm leaves, kefir lime leaves, thyme
And/or stir into chocolate ganache:
- Roasted, chopped nuts
- Rice crispies
- Chopped white chocolate
And finally the coatings:
- The ubiquitous cocoa powder
- Roasted, chopped nuts: walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans
- Shredded coconut
- Candied fruits and flowers
- Tempered chocolate
The garnish (optional or when tempered chocolate is used as a coating):
- Vanilla bean seeds mixed into white chocolate and spooned over each truffle
- Matcha powder
- Sea salt
Given my love for hazelnut, it’s no surprise that I made truffles with roasted hazelnuts. I crushed them into really, really tiny morsels (this allows you to just feel the subtle crunch and flavour that comes through, without biting into a chunk of it.) And to maintain the distinctness of textures of chocolate and hazelnut, I sifted the crushed hazelnuts and let go of the hazelnut fairy dust. I’m not a very bitter-chocolatey person, so I used 50% milk chocolate that orangefoodie got me from Paris (the Paris post is next, I swear!)
To make these truffles I consulted none other than Alice Medrich’s
Bittersweet. This book of hers is one that every chocolate lover must own. Although I’ve probably
said it many times before, I don’t think I can praise this book enough. This is the only one you’ll need to refer to for anything to do with chocolate. Quite like how Dorie Greenspan’s
Baking From My Home to Yours is for baking.
Hazelnut Truffles
Makes: 50 truffles
8 oz. / 225g. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used 4 oz bittersweet and 4 oz. milk)
1 cup/ 200g. heavy cream
2 oz. / 60g. hazelnuts, toasted, then chopped up and sifted
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
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To make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over a low heat. Pour it over the chocolate and let it stand for 2 minutes, then stir gently, until the chocolate has completed melted. Let it cool a bit, after which you can stir in the chopped hazelnuts. Next, get a shallow container and line it with parchment paper. Pour the ganache on it and spread evenly. Refrigerate this for 4 hours or overnight.
To form truffles: Once the ganache has firmed up, score lines on the sheet of ganache inn the box to give you 50 squares. This way, you can achieve even sized truffles. Now pluck each square from the parchment and roll it into a 1 inch ball. Depending on how warm your environment is, you might need to refrigerate the rolled truffles for another hour before you can coat them.
Coat the truffles: Once rolled into balls, toss them in a plate of sifted cocoa and coat them evenly.
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February 4, 2010
in sides
When anybody talks about corn, I’m all ears. Just given me corn, butter, salt and pepper and I can eat that for all my meals, but make sure there is lots of butter. I’m always on the lookout to have corn in a newer, more interesting way. So when I saw a
mint corn recipe on The Wednesday Chef, it is anybody’s guess that I’d “Star” it in my feed reader.
While I still do not enjoy traveling by train to work, I’ve begun to focus on the silver lining. The good part about traveling by train is that there are some girls that will hop on to sell some extremely fragrant and fresh, local produce. So fresh, that you can smell the gorgeous mint at the other end of the train compartment! Plus along with this, you can catch some recipes and tips on mint usage being exchanged amongst the women, and if you’re a part of the click (knowing Marathi is mandatory for this), you can get your hands on the finished chuntey or minty chicken or mint and potato salad on the same train the next day. Funky setup.
As soon as I got my hands on a huge bunch of mint, I put aside a bowlful of it just for the minty corn recipe I’ve had at the back of my mind. I’ve never caramelised corn before, so this was a first for me. While it cooked, I loved to hear the corn popped and the whole kitchen smelled of buttery goodness. Try it, you’re going to love it. And if like me, you believe that mint and lemon is a match made in heaven, then add some lemon zest to the corn. It will smell spectacular.
Also, I added a teaspoon of sugar to the corn when it was cooking. I’m not sure where, but I read many years ago that adding sugar to corn brings out its natural sweetness. I’m yet to figure whether it’s actually true or an old wives’ tale. Have you heard of something like this?
Caramelised Corn with Fresh Mint
Serves: 3
15 oz fresh corn (you can use frozen as well)
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp sugar
6 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
Salt
- Cut the corn off the cob from 3-4 corn ears.You can use a knife or get yourself one of these funky things if you can get your hands on them.
- Wash, dry and chop up the mint leaves. 6 tablespoons looks like a lot, but it’s going to wilt with the steam from the corn.
- In a wide skillet, melt the butter over high heat. Add the corn and sprinkle the sugar over it and cook, stirring often, until golden and browned (kernels may begin to pop), about 10 minutes. Stir in the mint and sprinkle with salt. Make sure you add the mint right at the end – you don’t want it to cook with the mint, but simply infuse the fragrance from the leaves into the corn when it’s warm. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve while hot.
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Chocoholics – you’re going to love this!
I made a chocolate mousse the other day and I cannot begin to tell you how delicious it was. I’m usually the kind who feels squeamish about having raw eggs in my desserts – especially yolks, but in this mousse you just can’t tell. Make sure to use really fresh eggs. And if you are still worried about it being raw, I suggest you use pasteurised eggs, and if you’re in India where such a category of eggs is unheard of, then simply
pasteurise them at home. It’s easy.
The chocolate mousse is so rich, so silky and it feels so wonderful in the mouth that you’re going to get hooked on to it. And because you can make this in no time, you can treat yourself to a luxurious chocolate dessert whenever you feel that urge to satiate a chocolate craving. Really – just read the steps below and you will know. For the best flavour, remember to use the finest chocolate you can get your hands on and you will be on your way to chocolate heaven.
I referred to the chocolate mousse recipe that I found in
Pure Chocolate as well as the one on
Smitten Kitchen to arrive at my version of chocolate mousse. You should totally try it. And let me warn you – sharing this is going to be hard.
Chocolate mousse
Yield: 6-8 servings
8 ounces / 225g bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao), chopped
3/4 stick / 3 oz / 75g unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
3 large eggs, separated
1/4th cup sugar
1 cup / 200g very cold heavy or whipping cream
2 ounces / 60g white chocolate shavings
- In a large bowl, set over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter and stir until smooth. Remove from the saucepan and switch off the heat.
- In the same saucepan (now with the heat turned off), set a small bowl and beat yolks and sugar with your electric mixer until thick enough to form a ribbon that takes a few seconds to dissolve — this will take about two to four minutes to achieve. Whisk yolks into chocolate mixture.
- In the bowl of a KitchenAid, beat the egg whites until they just hold soft peaks. Remove from bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl, whip up the cream until it just holds stiff peaks.
- Fold the whipped cream and beaten whites into the chocolate mixture, gently but thoroughly. Transfer to 8 (4 ounce) ramekins and sprinkle with the white chocolate shavings. Let the mousse set in the fridge for about an hour before serving.
Note: The mousse will keep for upto two days in the refrigerator.
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Or better still the title of this post should be Oh. My. Goodness. Because that’s what I said when I bit into this luscious caramel tartlet covered with a thick layer of dark chocolate and then sprinkled with some nutty cacao nibs.
These tartlets are small and delicate with a buttery, almost cookie like crust layered with rich, thick caramel and stiff dark chocolate topped off with a few precious Valhrona cacao nibs (or some sea salt, if you like). I earnestly urge you to have this recipe in your repertoire because this really doesn’t get better than this. Need another reason? You can make these much ahead of time when you have guests coming over. Even though I’d made 24 such tartlets, I didn’t get enough to satiate my caramel-cravings so I made yet another batch for myself today. I can’t make up my mind about what I liked most about them – each of the 4 distinct layers: crust, caramel, chocolate, nibs/salt blew my mind. I was afraid the caramel would be too sweet for my liking, but the bittersweet chocolate and the mellow crust did an excellent job setting off the sweetness, and the salt gave it a well rounded flavour coupled with a classy touch. I’d never been a fan of salt in my dessert, but with this tart, I’m a changed person.
I look for every opportunity I can to use vanilla beans, so I split and scraped half a bean to use for the caramel. What I also did was let the bean sit in the warm caramel for some more of the vanilla goodness to infuse into it. Doesn’t the caramel look beautiful with those specks of vanilla?
So, since I made them twice, I tried them with a chocolate ganache, as the recipe prescribes and then this time, I melted bittersweet chocolate with 2 tablespoons of milk just so that the chocolate loosens up a bit and isn’t too firm to the bite when it has set. I liked it more this way.
Chocolate Caramel Tart
Adapted from:
Lottie and Doof and the original recipe is by Claudia Fleming (I so want her
book!)
Yield: 1 10 inch tart or 24 small tartlets
For the Chocolate Tart Dough
8 tbsp / 1 stick / 112g unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
For the Caramel Filling
1/2 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup / glucose
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons crème fraîche (I added extra cream because this is hard to find!)
For the Chocolate Layer
3 1/2 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tbsp milk
Final touch
Sea salt or cacao nibs
- To make the tart dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and confectioners’ sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Add egg yolk and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Sift in flour and cocoa powder, and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and form it into a disk; wrap well. Chill until firm for at least 1 hour. You can keep this refrigerated upto to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C. On a lightly floured surface, roll the tart dough 3/16th inch thick and cut out dough with a round cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the tartlet mould. Transfer it to the mould and press it in gently, especially the corner of the base so that it fits securely. Alternatively, you could make a 10 inch large tart as well. Just roll the dough out in a circle and transfer the fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press into pan. If it falls apart at all just push it back together in the pan. Chill the tart shell in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Prick the shell all over with a fork. Blind bake for 10-15 minutes until done. Let it cool for another 10 minutes or so before removing the tarlets from the moulds. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool. (The tart shell can be made 8 hours ahead.)
- To make the filling: Place 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Add sugar and corn syrup, and cook mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until it becomes a dark-amber caramel (I removed it when it was sort of a medium amber since I knew it would continue to cook off heat), about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and carefully (the mixture will bubble up) and slowly add the heavy cream followed by the butter and crème fraîche. Stir until smooth. (The caramel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated in a covered container.) Pour the caramel into the cooled tart shell and allow to set, first at room temperature and then in the refrigerator.
- To make the chocolate layer: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Add two tablespoons of milk for a softer texture. Spoon this over on individual chocolates and immediately top with cacao nibs or sea salt, whichever you prefer before the chocolate sets. Serve!
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