Dark Chocolate and Orange Tart with Toasted Almonds

Santa, cover your ears.

I’ve been a bad foodie. I’m probably on my way to foodie hell as we speak. I was everything a foodie’s not suppose to be when it comes to holiday cooking; impatient, practical, calculated, and worst of all – lazy! Not that I wasn’t doing anything, I was. Just not baking. And that’s pretty much what it takes to earn a one way ticket to the good ol’  inferno. Or a day with Gordon in his kitchen ( shivers )…

I did, however, put my act together last minute and decided to be really really good and redeem all foodie sins ever comitted by making this super rich don’t-even-think-about-eating-it-without-cream dark chocolate and orange tart. Aside from being the main (well, the only really) treat this Christmas it is also my very first entry to this month’s Ajme koliko nas je challenge hosted by Vali of Vali Voli Torte. The theme is orange.

Okay, enough said. Let’s bake!

Ingredients:

Candied Orange peel

• 1 orange
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water

Crust

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour

Filling

• 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

Preparation:

For candied orange peel:
Using vegetable peeler, remove peel (orange part only) from orange in strips. Cut strips into matchstick-size pieces and place in small saucepan. Cover with cold water; bring to boil. Cook 30 seconds; drain. Rinse saucepan; add 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons water, and peel. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer until peel is translucent and syrup is thick, about 20 minutes. Using tines of fork, transfer peel to plate and cool. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.)

For crust:
Using electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl until smooth. Beat in cocoa powder. Add flour and beat until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 11-inch round. Peel off top sheet of paper. Invert dough over 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom; peel off paper. Gently press dough into pan. Press dough overhang in to form double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake crust until sides look dry and bottom looks bubbly, about 14 minutes. Transfer crust to rack. Using back of spoon, press up sides of dough if falling. Cool completely.

For filling:
Toss almonds, sugar, and cinnamon in small bowl. Chop all but 2 strips of peel. Sprinkle chopped orange peel, then almond mixture over bottom of prepared crust. Place cream in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth; mix in Grand Marnier. Pour into crust. Refrigerate until filling is firm, at least 3 hours. Garnish with remaining 2 orange peel strips. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover loosely with foil and keep refrigerated.)

Using sharp knife, gently loosen crust from pan sides. Remove pan sides. Cut tart into wedges; serve cold.

( Bon Appétit, March 2003 )

~ by kissmyartichoke on December 27, 2008.