Feeding the Celebratory tummy

It was Wendy’s birthday on August 1, and it was as special a day as I can remember. I usually make “Wendy’s Chocolate Heaven” for her birthday - a concoction of Milk chocolate mousse, Dark chocolate mousse and White chocolate mousse and some cake. But this year she had a bunch of raspberries she had picked and suggested something incorporating them. And who am I to refuse a perfectly reasonable request? So here is.

Chocolate Raspberry Tarte

For the crust:
115 grams (1/2 cup) sweet butter at room temperature
115 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
3 ml (1/2 tspn) salt
15 ml (1 tbspn) vanilla
50 grams (1/2 cup) powdered cocoa
175 grams (1/5 cups) all purpose flour

1. Combine butter, sugar, salt and vanilla in food processor fitted with metal blade and process until creamy.
2. Add cocoa and process for one minute.
add flour and pulse ten of 15 times to combine with mixture. Turn out onto a piece of clear plastic wrap, form into a flat circle, wrap and cool in fridge for about one hour.
3. Lightly grease a flan tin (a pie tin with a removable base), remove the dough from the fridge and rest it for ten minutes. Spread the dough on the pie plate and work it until it covers the bottom and sides of the pan. Cool for one hour in the fridge. Cover with parchment and weigh down with pie weights.
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 350o F for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake a further 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the Filling.

500 grams Milk chocolate.
150 ml whipping cream
100 ml. raspberry coulis
25 g (2 tblspn) sweet butter
1 pint fresh raspberries

1. melt chocolate in mixing bowl over simmering water.
2. mix whipping cream and raspberry coulis in a small pot and bring to a boil.
3. add hot liquid to the melted chocolate and remove from heat. With a rubber spatula mix the chocolate and liquid until it is well mixed. Add butter and mix well.
4. Let cool and then pour into cooled pie shell. Refrigerate for half an hour or so.
5. prepare about 1 pint of raspberries by picking them over and discarding crushed or bad ones.
6. Remove pie from fridge and place raspberries on the top of the chocolate ganache. There are extra marks for placing the berries neatly – in concentric circles. The berries will partially sink into the ganache. Refrigerate again.

Depending on how hungry your guests are, you should be able to get 10 or 12 nice pieces out of this pie. Serve cold with raspberry or blackberry coulis and ice cream. We had a great birthday party.

Both milk and white chocolate will work with this recipe. If you want to use a dark chocolate ganache you need to use more whipping cream. Email me if you need hints on working with chocolate.

Harvey