Pie and Pastry Bible (87 page)

CHOCOLATE FLAME TARTLETS
Raspberry purée blends magnificently with the chocolate, brightening the flavor with its fresh fruit acidity and deepening the color. Stir
cup lightly sweetened Raspberry Sauce (page 603) into the melted chocolate mixture and add 2 tablespoons of sugar when beating the eggs. Alternatively, you can use 6 tablespoons of commercial seedless raspberry jam, but its taste will be sweeter. (This will give you about 2 teaspoons of extra filling for each tart, which is fine if you are using the fluted tart pans; if you are using flan rings, you will have enough filling left over to make an extra tart.)

If desired, brush the surface of the baked tartlets with heated and strained raspberry preserves and serve with cræme anglaise flavored with Chambord (black raspberry liqueur).

OPTIONAL ALTERNATIVE DECORATION

A design of contrasting cocoa made with a stencil is easy and dramatically elegant. Center the stencil over each tartlet and use a fine strainer to sift cocoa over it, using a small spoon to tap the side of the strainer or to stir the cocoa to disperse it. Carefully lift the stencil straight off.

STORE

Uncovered, room temperature, up to 2 days; refrigerated, up to 2 weeks. (Covering the tarts makes the crust soggy.)

POINTERS FOR SUCCESS

Leave the pastry in the flan rings after cooling to serve as support for the filling.

Use your favorite high-quality eating chocolate, which will have about 53 percent chocolate mass. A chocolate with 70 percent chocolate mass, such as Valrhona Guanaja or Lindt’s Excellence 70 percent cocoa bar, will make the texture of the filling too stiff.

UNDERSTANDING

The pastry shells serve as the buffer, like a water bath, to keep the filling equally moist and creamy throughout.

MOLTEN CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ TARTLETS

A fine crisp dark chocolate pastry shell makes an ideal container for this airy, creamy, intensely chocolate soufflé that oozes chocolate when it is cut into. Not only does it offer a great presentation, it also keeps the sides of the soufflés from drying, while providing crispness where it is desirable. The molten centers provide yet another textural contrast, of thickly flowing chocolate.

For a crustless version, bake the filling without the crust, for the same amount of time, in four 3¼- by 1¾-inch buttered and sugared ramekins.

OVEN TEMPERATURE: 400°F. • BAKING TIME: 8 TO 10 MINUTES SERVES: 4
INGREDIENTS	MEASURE	WEIGHT
VOLUME	OUNCES	GRAMS
½ recipe Bittersweet Chocolate Walnut Cookie Tart Crust for four 4-inch tartlets (page 62)	8 ounces	227 grams
Ganache Centers bittersweet chocolate, chopped	(¼ cup) of a 3-ounce bar	• 2 ounces	• 60 grams
heavy cream	1 tablespoon	•	•
Soufflé bittersweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, Excellence, chopped	13 little squares	1.33 ounces	38 grams
unsalted butter	2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons	1.33 ounces	38 grams
unsweetened Dutch process cocoa	3 tablespoons	0.7 ounce	20 grams
Cræme Fraîche (page 558) or heavy cream	2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons	1.3 ounces	38 grams
2 large eggs, separated, + 2 large egg whites yolks whites	2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon ½ liquid cup, divided	1.3 ounces 4.25 ounces	37 grams 120 grams
cream of tartar	teaspoon
sugar	1 tablespoons	approx. 1 ounce	25 grams

EQUIPMENT

Four 4- by 1¼-inch fluted tart pans with removable bottoms

Make the dough (page 62).

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. It can be rolled or pressed into the tart pans. If the dough has been refrigerated for more than 30 minutes, it will be too cold to roll without cracking. It will take at least 40 minutes at room temperature to become malleable.

To roll the dough, roll each piece between lightly floured sheets of plastic wrap
inch thick and large enough to cut a 5¾-inch circle. Use a cardboard template and a sharp knife as a guide to cut the circles. Drape the dough circles into the tart pans and trim if necessary to
inch above the top of the pan.

Cover the tartlet shells with plastic wrap and freeze or refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 24 hours before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. for at least 20 minutes before baking.

Line the dough with parchment and fill with rice or dried beans. Bake for 10 minutes. Lift out the parchment with the rice or beans and continue baking for 2 to 3 minutes. The dough will deepen in color but it should not start to brown, or it will take on a burnt flavor.

Use a pancake turner to slide the tart pans onto a wire rack to cool.

MAKE THE GANACHE CENTERS

In a small microwave-proof bowl, or the top of a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, place the chopped chocolate. (Do not allow the water to touch the bottom of the upper container.) Heat the chocolate, stirring often, until melted and remove it from the heat; if using a microwave, stir every 15 seconds.

Pour the cream on top of the chocolate and stir until smooth. Refrigerate the ganache for at least 1 hour so that it is firm enough to shape.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. at least 20 minutes before baking.

Divide the ganache in fourths and shape each into a ball with your fingers. Set them aside or refrigerate them.

MAKE THE SOUFFLÉ

In a medium microwave-proof bowl, or the top of a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, place the chopped chocolate, butter, and cocoa. (Do not allow the water to touch the bottom of the upper container.) Heat the mixture, stirring often, until melted and smooth and remove it from the heat; if using a microwave, stir every 15 seconds. Transfer to a bowl if using a double boiler.