The Building of a Tart

Start of the Chocolate Passion Fruit Tart

People often ask me what my favorite dessert to make is. I actually have to stop and think about it. There are so many choices, but I suppose I would have to say Tarts. I love the simplicity of them, but also the flexibility. Tarts allow for almost unlimited flavor combinations and can be made as a large tart to be cut into many servings, or my favorite- little individual sized ones.

This week I was searching for more ideas for the daily dessert du jour at the cafe. I scanned a few of my favorite blogs for inspiration, while running a mental cross check with ingredients available to me at the cafe. We have made a few tarts so far, but they have been rather standard. Apricot tart, Pear Tartlette, and Flan Patisserier. So when I found the recipe for the Chocolate Passion Fruit Tart on Tartine Gourmand's Blog, I decided this would be a good way to change up the tart for the dessert du jour.

Chocolate Pate Sucree

The Baked Shells

A Little Bit of Custard

I made a few changes to the recipe to suit my tastes and needs. The original Chocolate Pate Sucrée was gluten free, so for anyone with a Gluten intolerance wanting a chocolate crust, I highly recommend Tartine's recipe. When it was presented to the chef at the cafe for tasting, it received immediate approval for dessert du jour. To add a little color, I stuck a piece of Valrhona Dark Chocolate into the custard and sprinkled some chopped pistachios on top. Voila!

I think it may be my new favorite tart.

My Chocolate Passion Fruit Tart