Extreme chocolate--Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Coffee Mascarpone Cream

Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Coffee
Mascarpone Cream
Food & Wine An Entire Year of Recipes 2004

TART SHELL
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
Pinch of salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk

FILLING
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 large egg, beaten

TOPPING
1 1/4 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure coffee extract (see Note)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
directions
1. MAKE THE TART SHELL: In a food processor, pulse the flour with the confectioners' sugar and salt. Add the butter and egg yolk and process until a soft, crumbly dough forms. Transfer the dough to a 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Pat the dough over the bottom and up the side of the pan in an even layer. Refrigerate until firm.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the shell for 30 minutes, or until golden around the edge and dry in the center. Remove the parchment and weights and cover the rim with foil. Continue to bake the shell for 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a rack; let cool.

3. MAKE THE FILLING: In a small saucepan, heat the cream with the milk over moderate heat until small bubbles appear around the edges. Off the heat, add the chocolate and let stand for 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the egg; the mixture will thicken slightly.
4. Set the tart shell on a baking sheet and fill it with the chocolate custard. Bake for 25 minutes, or until set around the edges, but still very jiggly in the center. Transfer the tart to a rack to cool, then refrigerate until chilled.
5. MAKE THE TOPPING: In a very small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the coffee extract and cook over low heat just until the gelatin melts; let cool slightly.
6. In a large bowl, beat the cream, mascarpone and sugar with an electric mixer until firm peaks form. At low speed, scrape the gelatin into the bowl and beat to combine. Dollop the cream onto the tart and swirl decoratively. Sift the cocoa over the cream. Refrigerate the tart until firm before serving.

NOTES If coffee extract is unavailable, dissolve 1 1/2 teaspoons of espresso powder in 1 1/2 teaspoons of water. I used a bit of coffee 'flavoring' and then added some espresso powder dissolved in water.
Something went wrong and the gelatin sort of lumped up in the cream. I'm not sure why that happened. They were small bits so it didn't really
affect much.
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I was excited to make this recipe. Besides a bit of lumping coffee gelatin and some overdone crust (just around the bottom edge), it turned out really well but this was very, very rich. A little dab with do ya. It was probably second in popularity to the pumpkin pie, although my sister's apple pie might have pulled ahead of it in leftovers.

Excuse the picture as it was taken about two days after it was made and had travelled quite a bit.

I'll still make other chocolate pies. This was very good but not the ultimate. Years ago my sister made the perfect chocolate pie but by the next year she had forgotten which recipe she used. It's been so long I can't even remember what it was like, only that I really liked it. I think the chocolate base was somewhat dense, but not quite as dense as this tart. I was afraid that this tart here might be too intense with only bittersweet chocolate in the filling but it played out okay. I thought the filling could have used a bit of salt.

This reminded me of a fancy restaurant dessert. You eat a small piece, it's heavenly, but it's so rich, you aren't sitting around dreaming about it because
that little bit was so satisfying.

This cookbook will probably be mostly for when I'm feeling a little ambitious.
Not the the recipes are complicated but they're a bit more involved than my
usual fare these days.

We had pizza for dinner! Take out! Totally not my fault. My husband was supposed
to have a hunting buddy staying over and he neglected to tell me he would be there for dinner and I only had a small bit of flounder out for dinner. Two guys sitting it the woods all day didn't really want flounder for dinner. Turns out the other guy went home but my husband still picked up dinner.

Blast From The Past: Ricotta Cookies from December 2005. It won't be
long now and it will be time to bake cookies. I hope I'm in the mood.

Question of the Day: Are in the holiday spirit? It seems to be coming and going for me.