Chocolate Ganache Tartlets With Sweet Cherries Food

CHOCOLATE GANACHE MINI-TART RECIPE

Steps:

• Add first four ingredients to a food processor and pulse until well blended.
• Cut butter into 8 pieces. Add to dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture looks like oatmeal.
• Use a fork to break up and mix egg, then pour it all at once into the food processor bowl. Pulse 5-6 times to begin to moisten the mixture. Let the machine run steadily for a few seconds. Watch carefully until mixture begins to stick together and starts to form a ball. Machine will make a different sound as this happens.
• Press dough into a cylinder (like a roll of refrigerated cookie dough), cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30-45 minutes or up to a week.
• When ready to make crusts, cut the cylinder into 12 equal slices. I usually end up with 13 tarts because I roll all the scraps together to make the 13th shell.
• Roll each slice between plastic wrap until just slightly larger around than tart shell. The dough should be just shy of 1/4 inch thick and a consistent thickness throughout. This can be a little tricky at first. Practice makes perfect.
• Cover and freeze mini-tart shells until rock hard.
• Place tart shells onto a cookie sheet. Cover the inside of each tart with foil pressed to fit down inside. Bake in preheated 400 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 2-3 more minutes.
• Cool for 5 minutes. Remove crust from pan or mold. Fill when completely cool.
• Chop chocolate and place into a deep bowl.
• Heat cream just until it starts to boil, then pour over chocolate and let sit for several minutes until chocolate has melted.
• Use a whisk or spoon to begin stirring in lazy circles starting from the middle until mixture is uniform. Don't go crazy stirring or chocolate will lose its beautiful gloss. Gentle motion is good.
• Add butter in small pieces and continue mixing gently until ganache is once again uniform.
• The mixture should be thick enough to go straight into the crusts, but if runny, refrigerate for a few minutes until it thickens.
• Fill cooled tartlet shells with ganache.
• Chill tartlets until ready to serve. Remove 30 minutes before serving to allow the filling to soften a bit. Garnish with fruit or whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE TART WITH CHERRY-VODKA SAUCE

Steps:

• For the crust:
• Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
• Combine butter, sugar, vanilla seeds, and salt in a large bowl and stir until evenly incorporated.
• Add flour and stir until just combined and a soft dough forms.
• Sprinkle dough over the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
• Using a measuring cup or your fingers, evenly press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan (flour the cup occasionally to prevent sticking).
• Cover the tart shell with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Once chilled, prick it all over with a fork and bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the filling:
• Place chocolate and butter in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Combine cream, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves and liquid is just at a simmer, about 4 minutes.
• Pour cream mixture over chocolate and butter and let sit until melted, about 4 minutes. Gently stir until smooth.
• Pour ganache into the cooled tart shell and transfer to the refrigerator.
• Chill until set, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• For the cherry-vodka sauce:
• Place cherries, vodka, sugar, and reserved vanilla bean from the crust in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and stir to combine.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cherries start to break down and syrup has thickened, about 50 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Serve with slices of tart.