Warm Mocha Tart

While i've aspired (and sometimes still aspire) to a career in pastry, i've realized that I have little desire to replicate professional desserts at home. I am referring to desserts that employ advanced techniques, multiple components, garnishes, fancy plating, and expensive specialty equipment.

I feel very wistful when I look at Keiko's gorgeous pastries. This level of baking isn't practical for me right now: it takes time, space, money, and tools I don't have. I don't want to spend hours, days making a recipe if i'm not sure i'll like it, or if i'll have trouble storing it and giving it away.

For now, i'm content to bake in a manner that suits my lifestyle. I try to learn new techniques and recipes and execute them with care and creativity. I have a repertoire of good recipes and skills, and I know what I like to eat. More importantly, I know what my friends and co-workers like to eat.

Alice Medrich's Bittersweet is full of sophisticated recipes that require minimal effort. This warm mocha tart is fantastic and can be made in less than an hour. A simple filling of cream, butter, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, and egg is poured into a hot tart crust and left to set in a turned-off oven.

The filling is something between silky chocolate pudding and very thick hot cocoa. By substituting different cocoas, extracts, and infusions, you can make any number of variations. It also slices well.

I used a Claudia Roden recipe for the crust. I love this tart dough; I've made it five or six times and it's always perfect. You can roll it very thin and as long as you bake it thoroughly it will be crunchy and full of flavor. I like to nibble on the extra scraps of dough or make them into cookies.

I ate this with some classmates last night and it didn't last long. I found it just as satisfying as anything i've ordered in a restaurant lately.

Warm Mocha Tart
adapted from Alice Medrich's Bittersweet

For the crust:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour

For the filling:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or dutch process)
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 tsp instant espresso powder (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten

A 9 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom

For the crust:
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. Mix the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add the flour and mix just until well blended. Don't worry if the dough seems too soft. Press all of the dough very thinly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown.

For the filling:
1. Place the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and cream in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture is blended and smooth and begins to simmer around the edges. Remove from the heat and stir in the espresso powder and vanilla.

2. Just before the crust is ready, whisk the egg thoroughly into the hot chocolate mixture.

3. Pour the filling into the hot crust and turn off the oven. Leave the tart in the oven until it quivers like tender Jell-O in the center when the pan is nudged, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a rack.

4. Serve the tart warm or at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE NOTE: Either natural or Dutch-process cocoa works well here. The former has a livelier, more complex, fruity flavor, while the latter has a cozy old-fashioned flavor reminiscent of chocolate pudding. You choose.