The Afterglow

I almost feel as though I should be smoking a cigarette. But since I don't smoke, and since that may be a passé image, here's what's got me all happy-tingly:

Chocolate Custard Tart

By Chef Karen Demasco of Craft, Craftbar and 'wichcraft

Tart dough:

2 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
1/2 cup cocoa
pinch kosher salt
1 and 1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg

Custard:

7 ounces Valrhona extra-bitter chocolate, chopped
1 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg

Brandy Whipped Cream:

1 and 3/4 cups double cream, chilled
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons brandy, or to taste

Dough: Sift the flour with the cocoa and salt. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle on low speed until fluffy. Add the egg and mix just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until a dough forms. Shape into a ball, cut in half, flatten both halves, wrap each in plastic and chill for at least an hour.

Working quickly, roll out one of the dough balls on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper to form a 13-inch circle about 1/8th inch thick. Place the parchment on a baking sheet, cover the dough with plastic and chill it for at least one hour. Keep the remaining dough in the freezer for another tart.

Carefully fit the dough into a 9 1/2-inch tart shell with a removable bottom, taking care not to stretch or pinch it. Freeze the dough for at least 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake the crust until it puffs, about 10 to 15 minutes. Flatten the base by pressing it down with a measuring cup, then continue baking until the crust is crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes more. Set aside to cool.

Chocolate Custard: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place chocolate in a bowl. Bring the cream, milk and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Add the mixture, a third at a time, to the chocolate, stirring each addition until combined (if it's added all at once, the chocolate will become grainy). Beat the egg in a large bowl. Whisk in a quarter of the chocolate milk mixture until just combined, and add to the remaining chocolate (do not whisk hard). Tap the bowl to get rid of any air bubbles. Pour custard into the baked tart shell, filling it to the top.

Bake for 20 minutes, rotate front to back, and bake for another 20 minutes or until custard is set around the edges, but jiggly in the center. Serve with brandy whipped cream.

Brandy Whipped Cream: Whip the cream and sugar together in a bowl until soft peaks almost form. Add the brandy and continue beating until stiff.

Recommended wines: Moscato, such as Moscato Passito di Pantelleria Bukkuram

What started the whole thing was a pic in the latest food porno mag (Food & Wine). And my realization I had not had one single dose of chocolate in about a week. At least! There was a pic of hideously expensive plates decorated with platinum, and on one was a chocolate tart. Well, screw the plate, I wanted to know about the tart. It was just a prop, so I Googled 'chocolate tart', and came up with the above recipe. It looked like a winner, and let me tell you, it is. A sexy, black stiletto heel of a dessert. Not as hard as it looks, because I brazenly took shortcuts. The dough was soft and buttery enough that I figured I could just press it into the tart pan, and this worked just fine (Orange Wino, I used the rectangular tart pan I bought when we were down to see you in April). I have a feeling I might have made liberal use of the 'F' word had I tried rolling it out per the instructions.

No, we didn't serve it with the recommended wine. We accompanied it with Left Hand Imperial Stout. And I skipped the Brandy Whipped Cream. But I do think this needs something light to serve as a foil. I was thinking a few fresh raspberries tumbled over the top would do nicely, too. It has just barely enough sugar to offset the bitter chocolate.

And I used a Pound-Plus Trader Joe's Bittersweet Bar instead of Valrhona, too. I was fresh out of Valrhona.