Signature Recipes

This chocolate recipe comes from three-time James Beard award winner Judith Choate from her
A Reader’s Cookbook available form Red Rock Press. http://redrockpress.com/delicious.html#readersCookbook

Chocolate Tart
with Chocolate Ganache, Whipped Cream, and Raspberry Sauce
Makes one 10-inch tart

This is a very dense, rich tart, so cut very thin wedges I have, in a nod to the raspberry pill in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, added a raspberry sauce that, if you wish to make a fancier dessert, can coat the bottom of each plate.

¼ pound fine quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into pieces
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup plus 2½ tablespoons sugar
¼ cup cake flour, sifted
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
Raspberry Sauce, optional (recipe follows)
Unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving, optional.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Lightly butter the interior of a 10-inch round spring form pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a 10-inch circle and fit it into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Combine the chocolate and butter in the top half of a double boiler over simmering water. Heat, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes or until completely melted and blended.
Combine the sugar and flour in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk. With the motor running on low, add the eggs, one at a time.
When all of the eggs have been incorporated, with the motor running, add just a bit of the warm chocolate to the mixture to temper it. Then slowly add the remaining chocolate. Beat on low for about 8 minutes, or until the mixture is very thick and smooth.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. The batter should be no more than 1 inch high in the pan, or the finished cake will not hold together.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Open and remove the springform and invert the cake onto the wire rack. Set aside to cool completely then remove the bottom of the pan.
When cool, leaving the cake on the wire rack, pour the ganache over the top and, using a spatula, carefully spread the ganache over the entire cake, allowing the excess to drip off. Allow the ganache to set for at least 15 minutes.
Transfer the cake to a serving plate. Cut into small wedges and serve.
Alternately, coat the bottom of individual dessert plates with Raspberry Sauce. Place a small wedge of the cake in the center of each plate and garnish with a dollop of unsweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Ganache
3 ounces fine quality semi-sweet chocolate, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons heavy cream

Combine the chocolate and butter in the top half of a double boiler over simmering water. Heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes or until completely melted and blended. Remove from the heat.

While the chocolate is heating, place the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to just a bare simmer and immediately remove from the heat.

Whisk the hot cream into the chocolate, beating with a wooden spoon until smooth and shiny.
Set aside to cool slightly before using. Do not let harden.

Raspberry Sauce (optional)
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons simple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine the raspberries, syrup, and lemon juice in a blender jar. Process until smooth.
Pour through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on the solids with a rubber spatula, into a clean container.

Serve immediately or store, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.