tart Archives - Page 7 of 7

Ombre Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Tart (No Bake)

21|07|2014

Let’s talk about colours! Or the absence of them. Can you imagine a world without colours? How boring would that be! Colours contribute to our visual experience. They help us to relate to our environment. They stimulate imagination and creativity. One of the earliest and basic things we learnt as kids were to recognise and differenciate between colours. We painted the yellow sun, wanted to dive into the blue sea, ride the red bike and messed up the brown cake. Most of us loved it. Because it simplified our understanding of the big world around us and gave us our first powers. The power of choice! I can tell you how big and powerful I felt at 4 years when I was allowed to choose the colour of my birthday dress.

As bloggers, photographers, food enthusiasts colours have never been more important to us. How much do we love Pinterest! Being a colour fanatic myself, I love what I can do with the pictures and recipes on of my blog. I feel empowered, in a humble way. On the topic of colours, Ombre is amazing! It is a feast for the eyes. When you add Chocolate and Cheese to it, it is a feast for the soul.

Getting the Ombre effect on a tart was impossible without piping the filling onto it. I didn’t want to make a cake as there are plenty of beautiful ones out there. So I decided to go with the usual no-bake crust that I use to make my cheesecakes, only in tart form. I started out with a base cheesecake mixture, then divided it into three bowls and mixed the 3 types of chocolate individually. Then it was a matter of filling up a piping bag and piping in the filling (starting with white) in a shaded effect.

This recipe is easier than it looks. Like a no-bake cheesecake, this is best stored in the refrigerator. Because this is a large tart, the tart crust might be slightly delicate to deal with, so do be carful while releasing the sides of the tart pan. I have not used gelatine in this recipe, which I would usually do to get a firmer texture for my cheesecake. Since, I intended to pipe the cheesecake filling, I reduced the heavy cream content so it was firm enough to hold shape. If you are going to use a single piping bag, needless to say, it is best to start with the white chocolate filling.

This Ombre tart is my contribution to the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop for the month of July. This is hosted by the lovely JJ of 84th &3rd and the theme as you might have guessed is Ombre. Do check out the other creations at the bottom of the post.

Starting with something sweet on a Monday morning is my best start to a week. I hope you are off to a colourful & sweet start too!

Ombre Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Tart (No Bake)
Serves 8-10

300g chocolate cookies
100g unsalted butter, melted
200g dark chocolate, melted and brought to room temperature
150g milk chocolate, melted and brought to room temperature
150g white chocolate, melted and brought to room temperature
500g cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup Castor sugar
250 ml heavy or thickened cream
cocoa powder, to serve
chocolate shavings, to serve

Grease a 23 cm Tart pan (with a removable base) and line the base with baking paper.
Place the cookies in a food processor. Process until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and mix to combine. Using your fingertips, press biscuit mixture over base of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold through cream in the cream cheese mixture, gradually. Divide this mixture equally among 3 bowls. Mix the dark, milk and white chocolate individually into a bowl of the cream cheese mixture. Fold in till smooth and blended.

Fill up a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle with the white chocolate cheesecake filling. Meanwhile, refrigerate the other two bowls. Pipe cheesecake kisses onto 1/3rd of the tart base. (I have done two overlapping layers). Repeat with the milk and dark chocolate cheesecake fillings till the entire tart base is covered. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Sprinkle with cocoa. Decorate with chocolate shavings. Serve cold.

Beetroot and Feta Tart

9|07|2014

When I was a little girl, my mother would cook a beetroot stew. I am not sure if there was a recipe or her own creation but I didn’t quite like the look of it. Beetroot was cooked in the pressure cooker with other vegetables and the resulting colour wasn’t very appealing. The potatoes would turn orange, spinach looked black, the onions were lost somewhere and then we would stand facing the mirror with our tongues out after consuming it . Without a doubt it tasted delicious, but that colour! Today, I love beetroot. I love the way it stains my hands and my kitchen counter. I love the way it looks and tastes. I use this root vegetable to pack variety and nutrition into the meals I make for my children. I feel an irresistible urge to take out the camera every time I notice it’s powerful purplish existence in a dish. It has the natural ability to make food look vibrant and attractive.

Beetroot is often paired with goat’s cheese. In tarts, especially. I think it’s an amazing combination but it does pair well with other cheeses as well. I like how it tastes with feta, mascarpone and ricotta. The saltiness and creamy texture of feta is just perfect to balance the sweet, moreish flavour of beetroot. Balsamic vinegar adds a lovely depth to the filling in this tart and thyme makes it aromatic. I adapted the concept of this tart from here but pretty much changed everything from the ingredients to the method of making it.

This is one tart that you would want to make over and over again. There is so much flavour in it. It makes for an impressive starter or a snack. If you are not comfortable making the tart shell, use a premade shell for the sake of the tart. You wont be disappointed. The filling can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator. The tart is best baked the same day.

Beetroot And Feta Tart
Serves 8-10

2 large beetroot (about 400g), trimmed, peeled and coarsely grated
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 red onions thinly sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons thyme leaves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
150g smooth feta
2 eggs, lightly beaten
150ml thickened cream
Extra thyme springs, to scatter
Fresh herbs, to serve

For the pastry
1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour
100g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

To make the pastry, place flour, butter and a pinch salt in a food processor and whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1/4 cup (60ml) chilled water, then process until the mixture comes together in a ball. Enclose in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Lightly grease a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 5mm thick, then use to line the tart pan. Chill for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Line pastry with baking paper and fill with pastry weights or uncooked rice. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and weights, then bake for 5 minutes or until dry and pale golden. Remove from oven and leave aside to cool.

Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Add onions and 1 teaspoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 minutes until softened. Add beetroot, vinegar, thyme, brown sugar and 1 cup water, then cook for 12-15 minutes (stirring in between to prevent burning) until thickened and tender. Cool the mixture.

Spread beetroot mixture over the tart base, then crumble over feta cheese. Whisk egg and cream together, then pour into tart case. Scatter with extra thyme. Bake for 35 minutes or until set. Slice and serve with a leafy green salad.

Polka Dotted Chocolate Pecan Brownie Tart with Chocolate Ganache

5|11|2013

Do you know what is the hardest part of photographing your favourite food? Protecting your lenses and camera from getting food stained. Because every other minute you are picking up the food and eating it. What a ridiculous thing to do but can I I tell you, its easier said than done!

I am so in love with this brownie tart. Let me explain why! Unlike a tart, there is no shortcrust pastry or any other pastry involved in this. It’s a brownie recipe that bakes beautifully inside a tart pan. The secret ingredient that makes it so luscious and fudgy is cream cheese. And the little polka dots you notice on the top are nothing but chocolate ganache. So basically after the brownie bakes, you make little pockets inside it with the back of a wooden spoon and fill it up with ganache. If that was not all, the brownie is studded with crunchy toasted pecans giving every mouthful a nutty sensation.

Chocolate lovers, I highly recommend this recipe for you. Even though it looks fancy, the recipe is pretty much like any other brownie with the exception of the ganache. You can always leave that step and just make the brownie tart though I really wish you don’t. It makes the whole thing so much more delicious and a treat for the eyes…totally worth the effort!
The theme of our Chocolate Party this month is Pecans so my Chocolate Pecan Dessert is dedicated to this favourite party of mine. Do check out the other creations at the bottom of the post.

I read this recently “Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment.” ~ Catherine Aitken.
Well, in that case this is the Father of all therapies.
I already feel rejuvenated! But I’m still going for one more little bite..

Polka Dotted Chocolate Pecan Brownie Tart with Chocolate Ganache (adapted with variation from Joy of Baking)
Serves 8-10

Chocolate Pecan Brownie Tart
1 cup Pecans toasted, (1/2 cup chopped and 1/2 cup whole)
200 g unsalted butter, roughly chopped
85 g semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
45 g (about 1/2 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
250 g (about 11/4 cup Castor Sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
85 g regular cream cheese (do not use low fat varieties)
65 g (about 1/2 cup) plain flour
1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Ganache
60 g semisweet/dark chocolate, roughly chopped
80 ml (1/3 cup) heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Set the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Grease a 9 inch (23 cm fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and then line the bottom of the pan with baking paper.
In a large heatproof bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter and chopped chocolate. Remove from heat when the chocolate has melted. Beat in the cocoa and sugar into the chocolate mixture until incorporated. I used a hand mixer. If you are doing it by hand, use a whisk. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and then the cream cheese until small pieces remain. Add the flour, salt and chopped pecans.

Place the tart pan onto a large baking sheet to catch drips (if any). Pour the batter into the tart pan and spread it evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Decorate with whole toasted pecans leaving space in between for the ganache filled holes that will be added later. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the batter has set and a tooth pick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Remove the tart from the oven and let cool inside the tart pan for 15 minutes. While the tart is cooling, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, over medium heat bring the cream to just a boil. Remove from heat and add to the chopped chocolate. Alernately, you can heat the cream in the microwave in a microwave safe cup and add the chopped chocolate to it. Allow to stand undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Keep aside.

With the end of a lighly greased wooden spoon make holes onto the top of the brownie. Then with a small spoon fill the holes with the ganache (take little quantities at a time as the holes fill up quickly and might overflow onto the brownie tart). Let the tart cool completely and then cover and refrigerate. Refrigeration helps to set the ganache and blend the flavours so it is best to make the tart a day in advance.
The tart will keep in the refrigerator for about two to three weeks.

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