Chocolate Chocolate Tart

I’m writing this post as I struggle through a migraine. It may not be as witty, insightful, or enjoyable to read as usual. I’ve been plagued with migraines since college. Sometimes they’re food induced, other times, like today, they’re stress induced. I didn’t even know I was THAT stressed out until I woke up at 5 am with a pounding headache behind my right eye. It just sits there. Hanging out. Wearing out it’s welcome. It’s 10 am and it’s still going strong. Because I’ve had them for years, I try really hard to not let them alter my life/lifestyle. Sometimes I can’t help it, I just have to lie down, other times I have no choice – I have to work through them. On days like today, where the cold Chicago weather that feels like early April, when it is in fact June, I am determined to not let the fact that I can barely concentrate on the typing I’m doing, ruin a perfectly decent dessert that I’m dying to tell you about.

And so we begin…
Last weekend my roommates and I had a little shindig. The weather was much like today’s – cold, rainy, and miserable. But it didn’t matter. We were going to have a party and we were going to BBQ and we were going to raise money for my roommate to run the marathon with PAWS.

Naturally, I’m still trying to get the tart pan to pay for itself, so I decided to make a tart – among other items. I found a recipe on Epicurious for a Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart that seemed easy AND delicious. I decided to try it out with a couple modifications (esp. after reading the reviews). The step are easy, timing wise it takes a little long because you have to wait for everything to cool before moving on.

Chocolate Chocolate Tart (modified from Epicurious)
Crust Ingredients:
127 – Chocolate Teddy Graham Crackers (about ¾ of one box) – When ground it should be about 1 cup of Teddy Graham crumbs
5 TBSP Unsalted butter (melted)
¼ cup of sugar

Filling Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup heavy cream
9 oz Semi-Sweet chocolate (chopped)
2 large eggs
1 tsp Vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt

Glaze Ingredients:
2 TBSP heavy cream
1 ¾ oz Semi-Sweet chocolate (finely chopped)
1 tsp Light Corn Syrup
1 TBSP Cointreau

Making it work:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:
Grind the Teddy Grahams in the food processor until the consistency is a fine crumb. Stir in the melted butter and the sugar. Dump into the tart pan and spread the crumbs. Press ¾” (or ¾ of the way) up the side of the pan. I stuck one of my metal measuring cups in the freezer for a couple minutes and then pressed it against the side of the crumbs to help the crumbs get into the grooves.

Bake until firm, about 13 minutes. Cool 15-20 minutes before continuing.

Filling:
Chop the 9 oz of chocolate and place in a medium size bowl. Pour the cream in a pan and place it on top of a burner at medium heat. Bring the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let it stand for 5 minutes (do not stir it!).

After 5 minutes, gently stir the cream/chocolate mixture until it’s smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, and salt together. After they’re whisked, stir them into the chocolate/cream mixture.

Pour your completed filling into the tart crust (as long as the crust is cool). Bake until the filling is set, but that a 3” area in the center is still a little wobbly. About 20-25 minutes.

Let the tart cool completely for about an hour.

Glaze:
Chop the chocolate and set it aside. In a small saucepan bring the cream to a boil. Once it’s boiling, remove from the heat, and add the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Stir in the corn syrup and then the Cointreau. (It will have a strong alcohol smell, but don’t worry it’s not intense with the tart.)

Pour the glaze over the top of the cake. Move the cake around to spread it over the top or use a spatula if you’re not quick enough and it’s already a little thick. Let it stand for an hour before serving or refrigerating.

This tart was more than just chocolate it was intense chocolate. The cointreau in the glaze got lost, because the chocolate was so rich. If you’re only a medium chocolate fan, this isn’t for you. The filling tasted like a rich fudge. I would probably make the crust a little thicker next time, because the edge was my favorite part, the crunch of the teddy grahams with the creamy, dense chocolate. It got rave reviews and while it was time consuming was VERY easy to make. My friend Seth, who doesn’t like desserts very much, LOVED it – so it is for sure a crowd pleaser.

I would definitely have a slew of witty comments and colorful descriptions to add to this, but unfortunately, my headache just wants me to get the basics out. I will leave you with this exciting TV throwback it will make up for my lack of creativity. Click Here.