We're gonna make that…
From this.
And it's gonna be easy … as pie.
Ask me how.
**how?**
Wait. First ask me why.
**why?**
‘Cause you wanted me to. You SAID. Remember?
I was all, ‘Hey, girlfriend. Wanna watch me make gee eff pie crust? You can totally make your own holiday pies.' And you were all, ‘Does a bear s*** in the woods?'
Well, at least that's how I remember it.
So I made a how-to video. I talked a lot. And I said ‘okay,' like, every other word. I wanted to smack me. So I edited the heck out of it. And then I sent it to Naomi Poe, Chief Flour-Wizard at Better Batter. And she's going to make it look pretty. Then she'll YouTube it at Better Batter Central, and we'll watch it while we braid each others' hair and drink wine and then you'll want to give me a perm 'cause you're nostalgic for the 80s and I'll say okay because I don't want to hurt your feelings, and then I'll leave in hysterics while you call after me, “it'll look soooooo much better tomorrow. I promise!“
In the meantime, we'll make this chocolate tart without the how-to (and definitely without the perming – please don't make me do that). If you're not ready to jump in with both feet just yet, you can defo file this puppy away until we've seen the how-to. No problemo. I just figured I'd show you what's possible, once you feel good about how-to make a gee eff pastry crust. You'll be all, oh em geeeeeeee! It's really gee eff?!
The flaky crust of this chocolate tart pairs so perfectly with the velvety smooth bittersweet chocolate ganache filling. The swirls of white chocolate add just the right amount of milky sweetness. Know what would be awesome, too? Instead of the white chocolate, melt some peanut butter and swirl that in. Dream me up some new swirls, homegirl.
This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts cookbook – the one that just came out this year. That is a really good cookbook. Perty pictures.
Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart, adapted from Martha Stewart Pies & Tarts |
- 1 pastry crust from http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/a-peach-of-a-crostata/
- 15 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12 inch to 15 inch tart pan with a removable bottom (if possible), and set it aside.
- Roll out the chilled pastry crust between two pieces of parchment paper until it's about the thickness of a nickel, about 1/8 inch thick. Carefully place the dough into the prepared tart pan, and press it gently into the bottom and sides. Trim any excess that extends over the top edge of the sides of the pan (see the photo). Place the pan into the freezer to chill until firm, about 10 minutes. Once the shell is chilled, cover with a piece of parchment paper, scatter pie weights (or dried beans), and bake it in the center of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Remove the pie weights, and finish baking until dry, about another 5 minutes. Remove the shell from the oven, and allow to cool completely.
- Place the chopped bittersweet chocolate in a heat-safe bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, and stir until smooth. Pour the chocolate and cream mixture into the cooled tart shell.
- In a separate, small microwave safe bowl, heat the white chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave oven (if you don't have a microwave, melt in a double boiler) until melted, stirring in between. Working quickly, transfer the melted white chocolate into a small plastic bag. Snip a small hole in one corner of the bag, and pipe evenly spaced dots of white chocolate throughout the bittersweet tart filling. With a toothpick, swirl the dots (see photo). With the tart flat on your work surface, shimmy it back and forth a bit to settle and even out the filling.
- Refrigerate the completed tart until firm, at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.
Regular nondairy milk is not an effective substitute for heavy cream, since it is not thick enough nor does it have a high enough fat content.
If you are using the Sweet Pastry Crust recipe from the cookbook, you will only need 1/2 of the recipe for this tart.
Love,
Me
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Sherry L says
Hi Nicole,
I have been drooling over this since Monday, as soon as I get my hands on some mimic creme I will be making this!! Your photos are so good(a lot of the reason for that is because your food is so good), I bet you could get a side job as a food stylist if you ever needed to bulk up your “shoestring” a bit;)
Anyway, since we are dairy free, I am thinking seedless raspberry puree swirls(I LOVE drk choc & raspberry) or maybe somehow a creamy mint swirl mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
When I do get around to making it, I will def. let you know how it turns out!
Sherry
Nicole says
Hi, Sherry,
Thanks for the kind words about the photos. I have been doing a lot of food photography reading behind the scenes, and I still have a ways to go. I really appreciate the kind words, though!
Raspberry puree swirls sounds like a fabulous idea. Mint sounds even better. Great ideas! Keep me posted. :)
xoxo Nicole
Gluten Free on a Shoestring on Facebook says
Hi, Melissa, Click through for the recipe. You make it.
Melissa Spatuzzo Piombo on Facebook says
this look phenominal!! one question where can i buy a gluten free pastry tart?
Sarah says
You are driving me nuts! In the best possible way of course. I love all your recipes but I live in the UK and haven’t found a better batter supplier. Can anyone advise, or otherwise give me rough constituents so i can make my own / substitute with our ready made flours (eg Dove’s organic do a range of gf plain, self raising, bread flours etc. http://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/gluten-free/gluten-free-flour-and-baking/maybe one of those would do?) thanks in anticip…..ation ;D
Nicole says
Hi, Sarah,
I so wish you could buy Better Batter in the UK! But since I know you can’t, let’s dig in to your problem together.
First, I clicked through to Dove’s Organic, and they don’t seem to be too explicit about their ingredients, at least at first glance. Just be careful of bread flours and self-raising flours, etc. Those are specialized, not all-purpose, so they will work for some things and not for others.
Second, Naomi Poe, the founder of Better Batter, does have guidelines for how to create your own all-purpose GF flour. I have spoken with her about my European readers who have no access to her product, and asked what she recommends you do. Here is a direct quote from her:
How does that sound? Let me know if it makes sense to you. We’ll figure something out, Sarah, and we’ll have you up and running before you know it. :)
xoxo Nicole
sarah says
The science part…..
What a generous response from you and also from Naomi – I have worked in community based regeneration and that is what we call enabling! It gives me the principles i need to look at what flours/mixes I have and see if I can come up with something similar… thanks so much. I will report back on how I get on. xx
Nicole says
Hi, Sarah,
So glad you are totally ready for action. That’s the best — to ask for help from the right source at the right time, when you’re ready to act. You’re fully enabled! Love it. That’s what we’re all about around here. Do report back.
xoxo Nicole
Carrie says
Oh em gee Nicole!! This looks amazing! You are the best gee-eff gee-eff (gluten free girl friend. {I have to admit that I’m pretty much cracking myself up here. I think I might need a life.})
It looks so pretty too, I think I like looking at it almost as much as I’ll like eating it.
Bee-tee-dubs (BTW {by the way} I can’t really take credit for that one, my sister made it up. But it’s still pretty darn funny!) the peanut butter swirl sounds amazing too. I think if I could somehow swirl some sort of minty something in it then it would be tha bomb! Maybe chop up some Andes mints… What do you think?
Well, tee-tee-why-ells (TTYL {talk to you later} Ok I REALLY need to stop this now. And I probably should stop laughing so hard at myself, too. I am a little insane, I’m sure of it.)
:) Carrie
Nicole says
Hi, Carrie,
Gee-eff gee-eff. Forever. And ever.
Minty swirls would be faaabulous. You could just spike white chocolate with some peppermint extract. :)
xoxo Nicole
Linda says
What could you use as a dairy substitute for the heavy cream? Seems like coconut milk wouldn’t be thick enough, which is my most common go-to item when milk or half-and-half is called for in a recipe. This looks delicious but we are a gluten-free/dairy-free home so an extra challenge. For some reason dark chocolate is tolerable eventhough it has a little dairy in it. Thanks for this recipe and thanks in advance for any response you might be able to post to my question.
Nicole says
Hi, Linda,
I agree that coconut milk wouldn’t be a great substitute. Have you ever heard of MimicCreme? I have found it at Whole Foods, and you can also order it online. It is a great substitute. Their products have ingredients like coconut oil, almonds, cashews and sweet almond oil. I bet you would be successful if you made a mixture of almond milk and cashew milk, and reduced it to concentrate it.
I am able to find bittersweet chocolate that has no dairy in it, by the way. Many varieties of Ghirardellis chocolate are dairy free.
I hope that’s helpful! Dairy-free can be pretty challenging, but there are more and more products on the market all the time.
xoxo Nicole
Linda says
Thank you! No, I haven’t heard of MimiCreme, but I have a Whole Foods down the street and I’ll give it a try. Sounds a whole lot easier than making a concentrate on my own of almond milk and cashew milk!
Nicole says
Hi, Linda,
Yeah, I would rather buy some MimicCreme than make an almond and cashew milk reduction, too, but some people are die-hard from-scratch bakers! So glad you have a Whole Foods available to you. As a dairy-free house, MimicCreme could be a real winner. I hope you’ll let me know how you like it!
xoxo Nicole
Susan Linn Plocher on Facebook says
I’m seeing Thanksgiving dessert in my future. I’m sure I”ll have to test it out first to make sure it’s okay ;-p
Nicole says
Sounds like a plan, Susan.
xoxo Nicole
Angie Halten says
Looks delicious! And the white chocolate marbling really makes the tart look beautiful (and tastes great as well:o)
Nicole says
Hi, Angie!
Thanks. :) It’s almost embarrassing how easy it is to make something look extraordinary. And I love a good make-ahead dessert when I’m hosting a dinner.
xoxo Nicole