Over the years, at Rachel’s Bread, we needed desserts that pleased a variety of palates, were fairly easy to make and looked nice on a plate as well. I pulled some recipes out of my family tradition but I also always looked for more in a variety of places. At my dentist, I would peruse cooking and home improvement magazines while waiting for the hygienist. I often carried piles of cookbooks home from the library. And sometimes, if I ate something spectacular at a restaurant or at a friend’s house, I would try to recreate the flavors and come up with a new item for the bakery. If I found at least one good recipe in a cookbook, it was worth it to me.

The rich chocolate tart that follows comes from an Ina Garten cookbook. It popped out at me because it fulfilled all the requirements. It’s also guaranteed to fill your chocolate needs as the cold days arrive. Once we made it, it became a regular on our evening meal menu and sometimes we also served it at lunch.
In the summer we topped it with fresh raspberries, or strawberries. Sometimes we served it with a decorative slice of orange. In the example here, I just drizzled it with chocolate ganache. And then, we always had real whipped cream to go with it.
So here is the recipe we used. And in my next blog post, I will have a recipe for a drink that would go well with it for the holidays or a mid-January chocolate fix.

Rich Chocolate Tart

9 T. butter
4 ⅞ c. semisweet chocolate drops
4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 ½ c. sugar
1 ½ T. instant coffee
1 t. vanilla extract
¾ c. flour
⅜ t. baking powder
⅜ t. Kosher salt
3 T. heavy whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2-9 inch tart pans with removable bottoms.
On a very low flame, melt the butter and 3 c. of the chocolate drops, until the chocolate is just melted. Stir once to blend and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, coffee, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy for 3 minutes. While the eggs are beating, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and 1 ½ c. chocolate drops in another bowl. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the eggs. Then add the flour mixture until just combined. Pour into the pans and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the center is puffed. The top may crack and the center will still be very soft. Cool to room temperature before removing the sides of the pan.
Heat the cream and slowly blend in the remaining chocolate drops. Drizzle across the tarts. Serve with real whipped cream and seasonal fruit.