Cooking: Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust + Fresh Raspberry Sauce

I love to cook. It's not like I come from a long line of incredible culinary wizards, or anything like that - my family made good, homecooked meals that you long for at the end of a bad day, or look forward to excitedly every holiday season.

For example, my Oma makes incredible schnitzel and dumplings that can make me drool just by thinking about them, and the rest of the family swears by her potato salad (although I'm not a fan of potato salad in general). My Grandma made the most amazing icebox cookies that I remember loving at Christmas because of the red and green maraschino cherries in them, and how good they tasted with walnuts in the brown-sugar based dough. I have lots of fond memories of baking Christmas cookies with my mom (twelve kinds for the twelve days of Christmas, you know). We still have my great-grandmother's recipe on its original hand-written card for 'marzipan' - which isn't marzipan at all, but it is a rice-flour based cake that tastes like almonds.

There is very little I enjoy more than cooking for others. I love that little surge of pride when someone tells me they've enjoyed something I've created for them, or they ask for the recipe. Even those incoherent 'mmm!' noises make me smile, because I brought a little spot of enjoyment for even a moment.

Now there are a million blogs out there that talk about cooking and food far more eloquently than I ever could. They also have a better point of view, and are probably more talented and driven than I am. They also take beautiful pictures that I can't even start to dream of composing. I freely admit that I am a kitchen dabbler in comparison to them. My knifework isn't something legendary, and when I decorate cakes and the like I usually run out of patience before I run out of frosting simply because I lack knowledge, and imperfections in my work bother me to death. I am a perfectionist who discourages herself because if it doesn't turn out just SO, then clearly I am a failure!

I never said it made sense.

I cook because I enjoy the process of taking ingredients and turning them into something delicious, of the bonding that comes over a good meal. It's why we remember the awkward family dinners during the holidays more than we remember the day-to-day ones: somewhere in there are memories, and at the end of the day, that's all we have to take with us.

Now, just because I'm waxing philosophical about family gatherings and the like doesn't mean I grew up in a Leave It To Beaver idyllic family - God, no, we were as dysfunctional as they come! Lots of dinners were uncomfortable affairs no one wanted to be at when I was younger, because the adults were not happy with one another for a variety of reasons, and generations constantly butted heads. But even so, there's always that little gremlin of memory that pops up and reminds you that 'hey, sure, this event was rough but there's this one thing that was really pretty cool'.

In recent years, as I grow older and ostensibly wiser, I remember family dinners far more fondly now - maybe I've developed an appreciation for it that I didn't have as a child. You take a lot for granted when you're little, and you don't think a whole lot about ten years in the future when you've got a plate of roast turkey and stuffing in front of you, you're surrounded by your favourite people in the world, and you know there's dessert waiting. It's about the 'now', instead of the 'later' when you're younger.

That's enough navel-gazing for now, I think.

Let's go on to the whole point of this post: recipes! I just made this delicious dessert last night, and although I don't have pictures of it, it turned out and sounded as elegant as you think it might. The in-laws seemed to appreciate it, and even though the husband and I have been together a long time, there's always that little nudge of pressure to have something turn out just so to impress the other side of the recently-joined family tree.

vv  Recipe after the jump!  vv


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DARK CHOCOLATE TART WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 12 servings

Crust:
8 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies), coarsely broken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted

** NOTE: the original recipe was for a 9-inch tart pan. My tart pan is 11 inches. I adjusted the crust recipe slightly by using about 40 cookies, and about six tablespoons of butter. The crust turned out just fine, so adjust accordingly.

Filling:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind gingersnap cookies in processor. Add melted butter and process until moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of tart pan with removable bottom. I used the bottom of a metal measuring cup to help smoosh it out properly. Place pan on rimmed baking sheet.

For filling:
Combine finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and heavy whipping cream in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk egg yolks, egg, sugar, flour, ground black pepper, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Very gradually whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until smooth and blended.** Pour chocolate filling into crust.

** NOTE: Make sure it's chocolate into egg, not egg into chocolate or you'll end up with a mass of chocolatey scrambled egg, not tart!

Bake chocolate tart until filling puffs slightly at edges and center is softly set, about 30 minutes for a 9-inch pan, 20 minutes for an 11-inch pan. Transfer to rack. Cool tart in pan 20 minutes. Gently remove tart pan sides and cool tart completely.

Cut tart into thin wedges and serve. This is very rich and decadent - small pieces are all you need! It's like eating the insides of a truffle in a spicy, gingery crust. I made this a day ahead and just let it come to room temperature before serving. Remember, a little slice goes a long way with this, so you'd better like your desserts intensely chocolate but not super-sweet. This is a rich dessert, but not a very sweet one.

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RASPBERRY SAUCE

How can you possibly go wrong with the rich decadence of chocolate and the sweet tartness of raspberries? This made a great counterpoint to the heavy richness of the tart, and kept the chocolate from being too cloying on the tongue. Warming it up before serving makes it even better.

1 pint fresh raspberries
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold water

Combine the raspberries, sugar, and orange juice in a saucepan. Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until smooth. Add the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil.

Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the desired consistency is reached. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.

Puree the sauce in a blender or with a handheld immersion blender (I used my Magic Bullet and worked in batches) and strain it through a fine sieve. Serve warm or cold. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.