Time 2h20m Number Of Ingredients 9 Steps:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make dough: In a food processor, pulse almonds until finely ground. Add sugar, flour, and salt; pulse until combined. Add butter, pulsing until coarse crumbs form with no large butter lumps (dough should clump together when pinched with fingers). Immediately transfer dough to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using a measuring cup, evenly press dough into the bottom and up the sides of pan. Bake in center of oven until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Make ganache: Place chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour hot cream, through a sieve, over chocolate. Stir until smooth and creamy in texture. Mix in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture into center of cooled tart shell (if chocolate is lumpy, pass through a sieve). Let stand until set, about 2 hours, or refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.
Yield Makes 3 1/2 cups Number Of Ingredients 4 Steps:
In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a boil. Remove from heat; add 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped, and let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk just until combined. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until spreadable, about 1 hour.
Time 20m Yield 16 Number Of Ingredients 3 Steps:
Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.
Number Of Ingredients 3 Steps:
Heat the heavy cream and the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Place the semisweet chocolate in a 3-quart stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. CHOCOLATE MINT XXX’S The fantasy begins by placing the chopped chocolates in a medium-size bowl. Heat the cream, sugar, and chopped mint in a 1 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar; bring to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream through a medium-gauge strainer into the bowl of chopped chocolate. Discard the mint. Use a whisk to gently stir until the cream and chocolate come together in a smooth and glistening pool. Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet with sides and use a rubber spatula to spread the chocolate to the edges. Refrigerate for 40 minutes remove the chocolate mint mixture from the refrigerator and transfer it to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Line a clean baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the mint leaves on the baking sheet. Form the kisses by piping about 1 tablespoon of chocolate mint mixture onto each leaf, creating a spiral conical shape, about 1- inch high for each kiss Refrigerate the kisses for 30 minutes until firm. Store the kisses, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a hour remove the chocolate mint mixture from the refrigerator and transfer it to a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip. Line a clean baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the mint leaves on the baking sheet. Form the kisses by piping about 1 tablespoon of chocolate mint mixture onto each leaf, creating a spiral conical shape, about 1- inch high for each kiss. Refrigerate the kisses for 30 minutes until firm. Store the kisses, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Time 3h25m Yield 12 Number Of Ingredients 6 Steps:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Combine pecans, brown sugar, and flour in a small bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or 2 knives until pea-size crumbs form. Press mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake crust in the preheated oven until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes. While crust cools, place chocolate in a glass bowl. Set aside. Pour heavy cream into a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until edges of cream just begin to bubble, but do not boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and incorporated into cream. Let filling cool for 20 minutes. Pour filling into cooled crust. Chill torte in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove sides of pan prior to cutting.
Time 25m Yield 1 8- or 9-inch tart Number Of Ingredients 16 Steps:
Make the tart shell: In a small bowl, combine the vanilla, 1 whole egg and the yolk of another, reserving the remaining egg white for sealing the baked shell. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed, then add the butter and continue until mixture has a sandy consistency, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla-egg mixture and continue to mix until the dough comes together around the paddle, 3 to 5 minutes. Divide dough into 2 disks and wrap individually in plastic. Chill until dough is cold but not too hard to roll, about 30 minutes. (The second disk may be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month; defrost in the refrigerator overnight before using.) Heat oven to 325 degrees. Apply nonstick baking spray to a fluted 8- or 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 chilled disk to 1/8-inch thickness, about 11 or 12 inches in diameter. Gently roll dough onto a floured rolling pin, and unroll into tart pan. Press dough into pan’s corners, being sure it remains the same thickness all around. Roll the rolling pin across pan edges to cut off excess dough. Place pan in freezer for about 20 minutes. Line tart shell with a 12-inch-round sheet of parchment paper, and pour in 3 cups of pastry weights, dry beans or rice. Bake until edges of dough start to color, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing parchment and weights. Return to oven until base of pastry loses its sheen and is slightly golden, another 5 to 7 minutes. Lightly whisk the reserved egg white, and brush it over the entire inner surface of the shell. Return shell to oven to dry the egg white, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling. (Cooled shell may be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours before filling.) Make the ganache: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine cream, honey and salt. Bring to a simmer and immediately pour over the chocolate; allow to sit for 1 minute. Using a spatula, begin stirring mixture in the center of the bowl, widening the circle as the cream and chocolate emulsify to create a silky ganache. Pour ganache into shell, filling it to the brim. Allow to rest in a cool place for 10 minutes so chocolate can lightly set. Gently and artfully place toppings on the ganache surface. Let rest in a cool place for another hour, or refrigerate for 20 minutes for a faster set. Serve at room temperature, slicing with a sharp knife first dipped in hot water.
