Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Tarte au chocolat

We usually keep a bar of cooking chocolate in the freezer for those occasions when we want to make something chocolate (which is not often in our house). Lately I've been making petits pots de crème au chocolat (thanks to Susan for the recipe!) and depleted our supply. So the last time Ken went to the supermarket he picked up a couple more bars of chocolate for the freezer.

A 200g bar of Lindt chocolate (70% cacao). I used 120g, just over half, for the pie.

And, since his birthday was on Saturday, we decided his birthday dessert would be a tarte au chocolat (a chocolate pie). As usual, I started with my standard pie crust. Most recipes for this pie use a sweet crust like a pâte sablée, but I stuck with my old stand-by. The recipe for the filling was one of the simpler ones that I found using just sugar, eggs, chocolate, and cream. I added a little vanilla extract for more flavor and I suppose you could add a liqueur like Grand Marnier if you wanted to.

I should have put a piece of mint or at least a fork on the plate to make the picture more interesting...

The pie came out very creamy and not too rich nor too sweet. It would also be good with a dollop of whipped cream or a meringue on top, I'd bet.

18 comments:

  1. It looks delicious. It is a good idea to keep the chocolate in the freezer - it makes it more difficult to nibble!

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  2. Mint? Vegetable dandruff....

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  3. That is a very inviting photo, Walt. No need for extras! However, I think that the dollop or two of whipped cream would be deeeeeelicious on it.

    Great job!

    Has Ken left?

    Judy

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  4. HOLY COW, Walt!! I cannot TELL you just HOW interesting this photo looks to me right now-- I haven't eaten chocolate in AGES-- in a few months... And this looks like a slice of heaven!!!
    Thanks for this post.. Looking forward to baking again...
    Leesa

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  5. Well done Walt. (Ina Garten would have added some coffee instead of vanilla).

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  6. That pie looks wonderful. A beautiful piece of chocolate like that would last in our fridge about a day before someone (probably me) had a feeding frenzy.

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  7. I haven't had a tarte au chocolat in....oh wait....I've never had one. Must remedy that one day.

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  8. I didn't know it was best to keep baking chocolate in the freezer. Ours does tend to get used up in occasional brownie-baking, but that's about it.

    Wordcheck: Prolo! Hey, come the revolution, you're in!

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  9. Oooh, Nadège, I LOVE the idea of adding some coffee to flavor the chocolate. I love chocolate/coffee together. Chocolate mousse made with some coffee added is heavenly (especially with that dollop of whipped cream Walt mentions;))

    Judy

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  10. Great looking tart Walt, and I'm not even a chocolate fan.
    What pastry recipe do you use? It looks light and crumbly.
    Sue

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  11. Very sweet looking, that.

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  12. I would definitely go the Grand Marnier route. As an artist I am something of a minimalist, so I think the picture is very interesting just as it is. Compelling, even. But I'm crazy about chocolate, so there's that.

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  13. No need to make the picture any more interesting! I'm going to be dreaming of this pie. It's a work of art and if it tastes half as good as it looks...

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  14. If there was a fork there, I think it would be even more irrisistable (is that spelled right?)

    Did you have any leftovers for yourself this week?

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  15. This pie looks absolutely amazing. It’s so mouth-watering. I love chocolate so much and thus everything that has chocolate. I guess I’ll be making one this weekend, because it’s my grandma’s birthday and I want to surprise her with something sweet.

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  16. The crust looks devine! A delicious flaky crust is my downfall, I just can't pass it up. Yours looks buttery and amazing, would you care to share your recipe?

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  17. paradykes, the recipe is at the end of this rather long post.

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