Tarte au Chocolat (Rich Chocolate Tart)

Oh yeah.

 Don't think I can't see you salivating right now.  One bite of this, and you'll be on a Chocolate high, riding on a Chocolate Unicorn, hurling through Chocolate Space, straight up to Chocolate Heaven.

I'm not even joking.

One slice will silence the Food Goblin squatting in your tummy. It's very rich and a little goes a long way. As a CAW (Chocolate Ambassador of the World), take my word for it. I'm warning you now though: this is not an every day thing. You simply cannot be munching on this all the time. Unless you want to end up looking like some weird creature from the Discovery Channel. If you live alone, I advise you to take a slice or two and give the rest to your neighbours. They will love you, and will Neighbourhood-Watch your house the next time you travel.

Here's what you need:


*The shortcrust pastry:

200g of soft flour
100g of butter
50g of egg
Vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
1 tsp of sugar
10ml of water

*The filling:

250g of dark chocolate (I use Green & Black's 70%)
100g of egg
80g of egg yolk
60g of sugar
200g of butter

*The decoration:

250g fresh raspberries
100g cocoa powder to dusting
Chocolate cigarettes (optional)

*The method:

1) Preheat oven to 180C.

2) For the pastry, we will use the same method as we used for the Lemon Meringue tart.  We chill the dough, roll it out, dock it, line an 8 inch tart tin, blind bake until golden. Leave to cool.

3) For the filling, melt the chocolate and the butter over a bain-marie and leave to cool. Blanch the eggs and the sugar, then transfer to the bowl of melted chocolate. Mix in well, then pour the mixture into the tart casing and cook at 140C for 20-25 mins. Remove from oven, then cool in fridge until set.

4) Once chilled, remove from fridge and slice into 8. The chocolate will be solid. Pile on the raspberries (You can also add chocolate cigarettes or flakes on top for that extra special touch). Finish off with a good dusting of cocoa powder.

I like to eat this chilled, with no cream or anything else to distract me from it.

Time to feed the Squatter.


Enjoy.

Tarte au Citron meringuée (Lemon Meringue Tart)

Yum.

This has got to be one of my favourites. Really pretty. The kind of thing you make for your mother-in-law when she comes around for afternoon tea. She will hate you for upstaging her in front of her son, but love you that 'extra much' for making such an effort for her.

What she won't know is how effortless this really is. But we want her to keep thinking how fabulous you are and what a good choice her son made. So the only people that need to know about this is us...


Here's what you need:

* The sweet shortcrust pastry:

200g of soft flour
45g of sugar
A pinch of salt
120g butter
50g egg
1/2 lemon, zest
Vanilla extract


* The lemon curd:

160g of egg
150g of sugar
1 lemon, zest
3 lemons , juice
30g of butter

*The Italian meringue:

120g egg whites
240g sugar
70ml water

*The Decoration:

1 lemon, julienne
150g sugar
150ml water

1) Pre-heat oven to 180C.

2) For the pastry, sieve the dry ingredients. Whisk the eggs and vanilla extract. Whisk the softened butter and sugar together. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar. Mix well. Add the lemon zest then add flour in stages, making sure all the ingredients are well-incorporated (Use a plastic scraper - it's clean and works well for this).  

3) Time to 'Fraiser la pate'...which is basically French for forming the dough into a ball, and pushing it with the palm of your hands along your work surface. From now on I will use the terms 'fraise the dough'. There's your free french lesson. Anyway...where was I? Oh yes, so you 'fraise the dough' for a minute (NO flour dusting!), cling film it, flatten and chill for at least 15 mins.

4) Once the dough is chilled, roll it out (lightly dust the work surface and brush off excess flour), dock it, and line the tart tin (about 21-23cm) and chill again for 10 mins. Remove excess dough, dip lightly in flour and use to mould it well in the tin. Crimp the edge using fingers or crimper. Prepare a double layer of cling film and fill with baking beans. Place in oven, blind bake, remove beans, then cook further until golden brown. Leave to cool.

5) Next it's lemon curd time. Warm the lemon juice, zest and sugar on a bain-marie. Once the sugar has dissolved, strain and return to bain-marie. Whisk in the eggs and cook until it thickens, then add the butter. Strain and chill. Spread in the tart case using a small palette knife.

6) For the decoration, peel the lemon and cut into julienne strips. Blanch them 3 times to remove wax and to soften them. Make a simple syrup with the water and sugar by bringing it to boil. Add the strips of lemon and leave on low low heat until translucent. Sieve, then place individually onto a sheet of silicone paper so that they don't stick together. Leave to dry.

7) Make the Italian meringue by cooking the sugar and water to softball stage (118C), and slowly add to whipped egg whites on the KitchenAid...slow speed, making sure the syrup doesn't doesn't hit the whisk. Then place on medium speed to cool, not stopping until ready for use. Place in piping bag, with a St. Honore nozzle and starting from the middle, pipe in a line, in a front to back motion one direction, then the same in the opposite direction. It takes a bit of practice, but once you know the technique, you will pipe it all the time...on cakes, on pies, on your face...!

8) Anyway. Here comes the fun part, especially if you're a pyromaniac like me. Blow torch the top of the meringue, moving swiftly along the lines. Be gentle and don't over-do it. We are looking to tan the tips, not burn the house down. This, coupled with beautiful piping is what makes this tart so spectacular.

9) Last but not least, scatter or criss-cross the candied lemon zest on top of the meringue.

This one is a real winner. You can thank me later.

Enjoy.

Traditional Apple Pie.

I made this Pie last night.

I had a late lunch, and by 10pm my tummy started rumbling halfway through an episode of 'Breaking Bad'. American shows always make me hungry. So I snuck down into the kitchen like a thief in the night, rummaging through the cupboards (the greedy 6 year old inside me being the driving force behind this one).

Thankfully, during the pie prep, I stuffed myself with quite a few apple slices: 'One for me, two for the pie". By the time the pie was done, it was a little past midnight and Sleep defeated Hunger. My waist-line appreciated it very much so this morning.

I'm not gonna lie. I think I actually dreamt I was eating the pie. Eating the pie or IN THE PIE...? Whatever. All I'm saying is, if it wasn't for my mother's judging pair of eyes, I swear I would have eaten the whole glorious thing for breakfast.

Here's what you will need:


*The filling:

Around 2 kilos of apples (I used Granny Smiths)
1 big juicy lemon, juice and zest.
100g sugar
45g  plain flour
A pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon

*The pastry:

240g unsalted butter
450g plain flour
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp of sugar
115ml cold water
Egg-wash (1 egg, a little water)


*The method:

1) Pre-heat oven to 200C

2) Peel, core and slice each apple into 12.

3) Place apples into bowl of filling ingredients, making sure each slice is covered with the paste. Keep aside for later.

4) Sieve all dry ingredients for the pastry to avoid lumps. Place in a bowl and cut up the butter into cubes. With your fingers, rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the water and mix well. Cover the dough with cling film and chill for 20 mins.

5) Roll out the dough, remembering that you will need some to cover the pie. Place over a pie dish (I used a 25cm dish), using a bit of extra dough dipped in flour to fix it in place. Do not stretch the dough!  Leave a few cms of excess dough over the rim. Chill for 10 mins.

6) While the dough is chilling, roll out the leftover dough for the top layer of the pastry. Chill for 5 mins.

7) Fill the pie dish with the apples, along with all the juices, and egg-wash the edge. Cover the apples with the top layer of pastry dough, trim and tuck the sides a little a use your fingers to crimp them together. Eggwash lightly and make 5 slits using a pairing knife. Sprinkle with sugar.

8) Place in the oven for about an hour, until the juices start bubbling and top is golden brown.

You can serve this warm or cold (I prefer cold), with some custard or vanilla ice cream. This can serve up to 6 people (or 1 greedy pig).

Enjoy.