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Jul. 8th, 2008 05:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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carols_stuffChocolate Ganache Tart with Cherries Jubilee Topping
Crust
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (finely ground in food processor or some stores sell them already ground)
2 Tbl white sugar or Splenda
3 Tbl butter, melted
Ganache
1/2 pound dark chocolate. Bittersweet is good. The better the chocolate quality the more intense the flavor of the tart. Look for a cocoa content of 60% or higher.
1/4 cup cream
Cherries Jubilee Topping
3 Tbl. currant jelly
1 Tbl butter
1/4 cup kirsch (Kirschwasser) or clear cherry brandy
(if you do not drink alcohol just use a tsp of cherry flavoring or vanilla)
1 19 oz. can sweet cherries, drained (not pie filling or maraschino)
2 tsp. corn starch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
Optional: Whipped cream for topping
To make the crust. Pull out your 9" tart pan. The one with the fluted edges if you have one. Pour in the cookie crumbs, the butter and the sugar. Stir with a fork until well blended. You can do this right in the pan. Then spread the mixture so it covers the bottom of the pan and up the sides. This takes a little trickery to not have holes but be patient and you'll get it all to spread. You can cover the crumbs with cling wrap to keep your fingers clean if you like. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool on the counter.
To make the ganache filling. Dice your chocolate into small bits. The smaller the pieces the quicker it will melt. Put the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream on the stove top in a heavy pan until bubbles form around the edges and it's just about to boil. It needs to be very warm but not boiling. Immediately pour this over the chocolate and stir until the whole mixture is a lovely dark brown. Then pour it in the tart pan over the crust. Spread if necessary so it goes to the edges. Refrigerate.
To make the cherries. Melt the jelly and the butter in a medium sauté pan until fully melted. Stir to break up the jelly and make sure it doesn't stick. Turn the heat off and add the kirsch. This is just for safety. Kirsch has alcohol in it and it could flame up if you accidentally spilled some and it got exposed to the flame. Be careful. Turn the heat back on and put it now on medium high. Add the cherries and the cornstarch mixture. Stir until well blended. You are now going to leave this on medium to medium-high to reduce the mixture. The cornstarch will help it thicken up; almost as thick as pie filling but not quite. This will take 9 - 12 minutes depending on the power of your burner. (If you did this with vanilla or cherry flavoring your reduction time will be faster because you have less liquid to boil down). Just stir it around once a minute or so. The liquid will be close to evaporated and the cherries will have a nice glaze on them. Let cool and then refrigerate the topping.
To serve: You have two choices. You can cut the chocolate tart and serve the topping on top or you can spread the cherries on top and then cut. I prefer to serve the cherries on top because if I have leftovers the cherries will make the crust mushy. They are too juicy for long-term storage as an assembled tart.
Optional: You can also add a dollop of whipped cream on top.
Crust
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (finely ground in food processor or some stores sell them already ground)
2 Tbl white sugar or Splenda
3 Tbl butter, melted
Ganache
1/2 pound dark chocolate. Bittersweet is good. The better the chocolate quality the more intense the flavor of the tart. Look for a cocoa content of 60% or higher.
1/4 cup cream
Cherries Jubilee Topping
3 Tbl. currant jelly
1 Tbl butter
1/4 cup kirsch (Kirschwasser) or clear cherry brandy
(if you do not drink alcohol just use a tsp of cherry flavoring or vanilla)
1 19 oz. can sweet cherries, drained (not pie filling or maraschino)
2 tsp. corn starch, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
Optional: Whipped cream for topping
To make the crust. Pull out your 9" tart pan. The one with the fluted edges if you have one. Pour in the cookie crumbs, the butter and the sugar. Stir with a fork until well blended. You can do this right in the pan. Then spread the mixture so it covers the bottom of the pan and up the sides. This takes a little trickery to not have holes but be patient and you'll get it all to spread. You can cover the crumbs with cling wrap to keep your fingers clean if you like. Bake the crust at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool on the counter.
To make the ganache filling. Dice your chocolate into small bits. The smaller the pieces the quicker it will melt. Put the chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Heat the cream on the stove top in a heavy pan until bubbles form around the edges and it's just about to boil. It needs to be very warm but not boiling. Immediately pour this over the chocolate and stir until the whole mixture is a lovely dark brown. Then pour it in the tart pan over the crust. Spread if necessary so it goes to the edges. Refrigerate.
To make the cherries. Melt the jelly and the butter in a medium sauté pan until fully melted. Stir to break up the jelly and make sure it doesn't stick. Turn the heat off and add the kirsch. This is just for safety. Kirsch has alcohol in it and it could flame up if you accidentally spilled some and it got exposed to the flame. Be careful. Turn the heat back on and put it now on medium high. Add the cherries and the cornstarch mixture. Stir until well blended. You are now going to leave this on medium to medium-high to reduce the mixture. The cornstarch will help it thicken up; almost as thick as pie filling but not quite. This will take 9 - 12 minutes depending on the power of your burner. (If you did this with vanilla or cherry flavoring your reduction time will be faster because you have less liquid to boil down). Just stir it around once a minute or so. The liquid will be close to evaporated and the cherries will have a nice glaze on them. Let cool and then refrigerate the topping.
To serve: You have two choices. You can cut the chocolate tart and serve the topping on top or you can spread the cherries on top and then cut. I prefer to serve the cherries on top because if I have leftovers the cherries will make the crust mushy. They are too juicy for long-term storage as an assembled tart.
Optional: You can also add a dollop of whipped cream on top.
