Fresh Approach Cooking

.
Hmm. I'm not entirely convinced that looks nearly as tasty as it appeared in real life. I mean, it was ooey-gooey chocolate after all.

Hmm.

Anyway.

And now for some random ramblings.

So if The Ombusdman and I lived in Echo Park or it's East Coast equivalent, Brooklyn, we would totally be hipsters.

But alas, we don't (and he works for The Gov'ment, which automatically disqualifies one from any vestiges of hipness) and therefore are relegated to just doing what we like, wearing what we like and eating what we like (Fish tacos mostly. Though, he has recently admitted to craving Big Macs every time he goes running. If he weren't training for a marathon, I wouldn't find that quite as disturbing. Heavens!) in our decidedly un-hip fashion.

We do tend to mingle with the youth of today though (on occasion anyway) since they always seem to have such hiptastic taste. For instance, this weekend we interloped on a little show featuring the only Brooklyn based faux-French pop band I can think of, Les Sans Culottes. A fabstastic musical event chock full of the hipnocenti indeed. (And one I encourage you to check out if they come to your fine city.) It was tres magnifique.

Funny thing about that band. The first time we saw them may have been the first time me and the boy ever really hung out. (Outside of seeing each other at parties, and, apparently, having attended the same high school for a couple of years) So they have a bit of a sentimental tone (though thoroughly upbeat) to my ears. Just brings a girl back, ya know?

Good times. Good times. And so very hip.

But if we were truly the cool kids on the scene, we still wouldn't hold a candle to this chocolate tart. Hot or cold it is number one on my charts. I made it for breakfast today (what?) and just had, had, had to share, share, share.

I copped it from the site Cake on the Brain, (who reprinted the original Alice Medrich recipe. Oh that Alice. What a genius!) and then made some switcheroos at my own discretion, and lemme just say, this stuff is da bomb.

Rich, chocolaty goodness. And ready in a snap! (Seriously, it's super simple to make...)

Try it my peaches, and taste the joy.

4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
2 ounces cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt salt
8 ounces flour
8 ounces heavy cream
4 ounces sugar
10 ounces 54% dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly whisked

Six 4-inch fluted tartlet pans with removable bottoms


Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Stir together the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix in the flour just until blended. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls.

Smoosh each ball evenly across the bottom and up the sides of each tart pan.

Arrange the tarts on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crusts are a deep golden brown. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large Pyrex measuring cup (or glass bowl), microwave the cream and sugar until just hot. (This was 1 minute at 70% power in mine. For those of you without an evil microwave, do this on the stovetop.)

Add the chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted and smooth.

Just before the crust is done, whisk the egg into the chocolate mixture.

When the crusts are ready, remove from the oven. Pour the hot chocolate filling mixture into the crusts. Return the tartlets to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or just until the filling begins to set around the edges but the center is still liquid when the pans are nudged. Set the sheet on a rack to let the filling cool and set.

Remove the pan sides and bottoms prior to serving.

Serve with coconut whipped cream (as I did) or a nice ice cream.

© 2008 Fresh Approach Cooking
______________________________________
© 2008 Rachael at "Fresh Approach Cooking" www.freshcatering.blogspot.com This RSS Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, or at the aforementioned url, the site you are looking at might be guilty of infringing upon terms of copyright. This means you choice cooking recipes. Stop stealing my content.

Les Sans Culottes is playing in San Francisco at Cafe du Nord on Tuesday April 8th, check them out! I will be teaching a vegetarian knife skills cooking class that same night at Happy Trails Catering in Pasadena. Which sounds more fun?

Team France took home gold at the World Cup of Baking, ending a 12-year drought. The French squad, denied gold by a team of Americans in the 2005 edition of the triennial Coupe du Monde, brought in a new coach and revamped its training regime in a vigorous effort to restore luster to an emblem of national pride. Bakers from Taiwan finished second, and Italy won bronze. The American team, champions in 1999 and 2005, and the Japanese, winners of the 2002 competition, both finished out of the medals. - WSJ.com

Labels: Dessert