Chocolate Cherry Tart ~ A visit to Chocolate Heaven

Meeting cousins who are holidaying is a delight..... It gives me the opportunity to pamper them with all sorts off goodies. Both my cousin's are studying abroad so when they are back it's party time. My sister has just graduated and this was a celebration of sorts too for a special n extremely hardworking sister.

When asked what they want...... Pat came the reply... something chocolatey without nuts.....

With Stone fruit ~ Cherries in the market, how could I not add their divine flavour to the intensely Chocolate Tart I decided to make. This divine, decadent Chocolate Cherry Tart from my friend Radhika has to be tasted to be believed. It has loads of adaptations as it's a very versatile recipe where the flaours can be varied as per your tastes... n our tastes include loads of Chocolate, Coffee and Bailey's....

Chocolate n Cherry Tart

Short Crust Pastry Base

[Adapted from Gauri’s Apple Pie Recipe]

Ingredients:

Flour- 200 gms

Butter cut in small cubes and chilled-100 gms

Powdered Sugar – 2 tablespoon

Baking Soda- small pinch

Cold Water-4 to 5 tablespoon to help bind the dough

Flan Dish- 9” to 10” diameter (preferablely loose bottom)

Method:

1. Cut cold butter into small similar sized cubes and refrigerate again.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and the powdered sugar.

3. Now blend the flour mixture with butter at low intermittent speed in a blender, till the mixture turns crumbly. Remove from the blender into a large plate and combine it with your hands to form a dough. DO NOT KNEAD the dough.

4. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. You can even leave it over night.

Note: if you leave it in fridge overnight or for 4-5 hours, take it out and let it rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes as the dough would have hardened due to the butter in it.

5. Roll out the dough into a round disk of 1/8th of an inch in thickness. Make sure it covers the base and the sides of the flan dish.

6. Grease the loose bottom flan dish or cover it with butter paper. Spread the pastry in it. Press it down on the sides so that the dough takes the pattern of the mould. Prick lightly with a fork. Keep in the freezer for 10 minutes.

7. Bake at 200 degree in a preheated oven for 20 minutes light golden.

8. Remove pie from the oven and let it cool.

Tart Filling:

Filing consisted of simple Chocolate Ganache and Cherries.

Ingredients:

Cherries Chopped in Halved- 50 grams

Cherries for decoration

Chocolate Chips or any good quality sweet dark chocolate- 300 grams or approx 11 ounces

Heavy Cream [I use Amul cream]- 350 ml

Bailey's - 50 ml

Cornstarch - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Dissolve the corn starch in 50 ml of cream, keep aside.

2. Gently heat rest of the cream, remove from heat and stir in the chocolate chips, leave them to melt.

3. Add bailey's to the corn starch mixture, stir it well.

4. Add the bailey's and cream mixture to the ganache. Stir the mixture till smooth and let it slightly cool.

5. Place the chopped cherries in the tart shell and pour in the ganache mixture. Spread it evenly till it covers it almost to the top.

6. Refrigerate it overnight or for 4-5 hours till the chocolate sets.

7. decorate with cherries and serve chilled

Mami had a spread for lunch... She followed it up by her famous cheesecake....Took us down memory lane... She's the one who introduced me the to concept of a cheesecake for the first time when we were kids.... Hadn't heard of something so fancy way back then.... Thanks for the initiation mami..... n yes all of us kids use to freak out n rush thru dinner only to get to the dessert course really soon for the cheesecake...

I also knew that these guys are fans of Irish Bailey's because of the Tiramisu I had done for them earlier. The tart proved to be be quite a success....

We forgot who all was watching their weight...

We forgot who was suppose to be having sugarfree...

We forgot that there are some who don't have alcohol......

All we could remember was the crisp tart shell and super chocolatey and melt-in-the-mouth goodness of the filling....

That's the bunch of us..... Mamu, Mami, Cousins, Mom and Vimla Aunty.

Verdict:

It’s a chocoholic delight... like Shut-your-eyes-in-Bliss... on every mouthful.....

We went to chocolate heaven n were forced to comeback after the tart got over..... I was made to promise that I'll make it again.....

Citrus Panna Cotta with Fruit Compote for Daring Baker Challenge ~ My Fruit Basket

Panna cotta it is.... Had made a firm resolve to make the Daring Baker Challenge well in time instead of panicking in the last few days n scrambling to finish it.... It sure looks like a simple recipe... It's just about cooking the ingredients together... getting the flavours right.... n pop it in the refrigerator to set.... How Difficult can that be.... Wait n Watch in the post below how I managed to complicate my life beyond words.....

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Winters in Delhi is abundant with fresh fruit flooding the market... I decided to take full advantage of that and make lots of fruit flavours for the Daring Baker Challenge of Panna Cotta... but I must admit that being so overwhelmed and absorbed with the Panna Cotta, I never got around to making the cookies.

My choice of flavours was Strawberry, Grape, Pineapple, Pomegranate and Orange n Lemon as the citrus base... While so many fruits were happening, how could I miss Chocolate and Coffee.... :)

Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. It is generally from the Northern Italian region of Piemonte, although it is eaten all over Italy, where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce or fruit coulis. It is not known exactly how or when this dessert came to be, but some theories suggest that cream, for which mountainous Northern Italy is famous, was historically eaten plain or sweetened with fruit or hazelnuts. Earlier recipes for the dish used boiled fish bones in place of gelatin; sugar, later a main ingredient, would not have been widely available as it was an expensive imported commodity. After years this treat evolved into what is now a gelatin dessert, flavored with vanilla and topped with fruit or spices, and served chilled.
Somewhat similar versions of this dish are found in Greece, France and Finland. [Source:Wikipedia].

This was the Pineapple Panna Cotta... made a pineapple compote [jam like thick sauce by boiling pineapple juice, fresh pineapple and some sugar.] to go with the citrus flavours in the panna cotta

The pineapple citrus panna cotta was very refreshing and a very distinct taste....

Citrus Panna Cotta With Fruit Compote

Ingredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange and 2 lemons
Fresh fruit of your choice [juice/jam of the fruit is optional]
pinch of salt

Method
1. Make the fruit compote by boiling together fruit juice/jam, fresh fruit and sugar as per taste and the fresh fruit used.
2. Pour the milk into a bowl or pot and sprinkle gelatin evenly and thinly over the milk (make sure the bowl/pot is cold by placing the bowl/pot in the refrigerator for a few minutes before you start making the Panna Cotta). Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the gelatin.
3. Pour the cream into the saucepan/pot and place over medium heat on the stove. Heat this mixture until it is hot, but not boiling, about five minutes. Stir continuously.
4. Next, add the honey, sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt. Making sure the mixture doesn’t boil, add the milk and gelatin, continue to heat and stir occasionally until the sugar and honey have dissolved in 5-7 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool slightly. Then pour into the glass or ramekin in which the fruit compote has already been set..
6. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.

My neighbour had a special request for Pomegranate as a flavour.... How can I turn down someone who requests for a flavour... So on our way back from watching the movie 'Band Baaja Baarat', we picked up pomegranate juice..... Pomegranate Panna cotta here we come....

I realized that pomegranate juice is way too watery for reducing into a saucy consistency without loosing it's flavour... So I used the fruit in it's entire goodness... My neighbour refused to get himself clicked while eating it..... He liked it enough to take back some more for his dad and girlfriend..... That's testimony enough for me....

Another fruit which I haven't used in it's fresh form while baking is Grapes.... Another challenge over come by way of Grape Panna Cotta...

My sister and her friend Sharath loved the grape panna cotta. They were extremely amused while watching me photograph the panna cotta. They knew from previous experience of the Swiss Swirl Icecream Cake that they'll just have to wait for the goodies till I was done taking pictures :) Having waited quite impatiently thru the photography session, watching me ooohhh and aaahhhh when I upturned the panna cotta n release it from the silicon cups, their amusement was boundless.....

Another friend of my sister from school had come over, Anubha.... She choose to have the Chocolate panna cotta.... I sometimes wonder why most of us cannot see beyond chocolate... everything chocolate is good and made even better with Coffeeeeeeee........

This is.. These were the remains of a Coffee, Chocolate layered Panna Cotta which was polished off in a matter of seconds.... Am I complaining.... absolutely not..... We fought over it with spoons n were giggling like kids.... Sharath was seen sulking as my sister n I gobbled up the majority of it.... Sharath don't worry will certainly make some more for you..... Ok I heard you LOUD n CLEAR..... LOTS-MORE-ONLY-FOR-SHARATH..... :)

Saved the sweetest n cutest ones till the end of the post Strawberry Panna Cotta.... The market is now getting fewer and fewer of these amazing luscious berries which I can never get enough of....

I didn't have to work very hard to make the strawberry compote, it was a breeze. Have been having so much fun with strawberries this season. The Strawberry n Almond Brownies, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for Valentines and Strawberry Peppermint Brownies.

The shot glasses made me practice how to make angled layers.... Awww.... Don't they look so pretty... The pink blush of strawberries.... :)))))

Strawberry Pannacotta and Strawberry Brownies with Strawberry Crush..... am I tripping on strawberries... oh yes I am..... I had to bid them an appropriate adieu.... Bye bye strawberries, but only till next year... Will wait for ya.... :))))

Verdict:

Had just way too much fun making these and sharing them with everyone.... It's so simple to make and absolutely heavenly n creamy. An absolute keeper which should be repeated many times over for the sheer ease of producing something fantastic in such little time :)

Happy Birthday Chocolate Tarts for Suma of Cakes and More

This is a very special post for my blogger friend, Suma of Cakes and More from Bangalore. She did an amazing guest post for me... Egg-less Coffee Walnut Cake Trifle. Her blog has turned 1.... Happy Birthday my dear friend.......

She's hosting a birthday event and also has a giveaway announcement, she calls it Bakeomania! What a cool name for this event. The give away is this wonderful book, which every baker would love to own 'The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum!'.
Since her blog is a vegetarian blog.... I had to rack my brains very hard at what can I bake without eggs... an eggless cake... nah... that's the first thought everyone will have........
Chocolate n Coffee at Suma's birthday event is essential cause I know she loves them both and since she's so careful with the look for her desserts.... mine had to look desirable too.....

So, My Chocolatey baked goodie is this Chocolate Ganache Tarts..... No eggs in the pastry shells, They are baked, There's hmmmmmmm goooooooeeeeeeey molten Chocolate n cream and some Coffee added for extra flavour to the Ganache........

As she says.... Three Cheers to home-baking and may the passionate home-bakers tribe increase!
Suma: Am certainly a +1 on your list, hope i get the book to keep up my crazy baking :)

What's the similarity between a Sincere Kiss and Chocolate Tiramisu?

The 3 very special people in my life....... Babaji, Upma mom and Mom.....

Is this special or what....... Yes making parshad is always special for me.... the effort is huge cause I need to make it for about 350 people (including the sugarfree version) in 1 weekend and transport it to North Delhi from South Delhi ;) I can Proudly say that divine grace has always been with me and the task at hand gets done despite the challenges.
That's Shobha didi and Sudha aunty distributing, Manish eating :) , Tarush and Nikki helping out.....

That's my POSERS INC... Sadhika, Geetika, Disha, Shrishti, Shinky and Mom :)

My earlier trysts with this dessert..... You Know.... It's For YOU, Tiramisu..., Chocolate Tiramisu ~ Amrita's Birthday, Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake for Baking Queen ~ Deeba's Birthday, Flying Tiramisu Cupcakes, Chocolate Tiramisu, the dessert of Decadence. You can use any of these recipes.... they all worked like magic for me..... :) *really smug grin*

What actually made me decide that this is what I'm going to make as parshad.....
Had made this for Vivekji's Promotion party and everyone loved it..... I had loved the taste of this dessert myself[very evident with the number of times I've made it and loads of posts on it :)] The encouragement which I got from everyone at the party and support from Vibha had me decided.... :)
The after party smses made my day... was feeling so so Happy... :) :) :)

Vivek ji: Mummy aapka desert party ka oasis tha n u looked beautiful....

Vibha: Hey! N thanks to u for such awesome dessert man! It was perfectly done n u excelled yourself totally! Your being there made the party fun :)

Madame you have totally taken the cake this time! Ur dessert wuz simply purrfect, the rite sweetness, body, silkiness.. I ve bin pigging on it today n hv bi sittin n appreciating all day..

Sorry to put u on such a high :)) but both my sisters have totally freaked on ur dessert wch i call choc tiramisu, n they think its the best that they've ever eaten! Now that u r an established best in the field, i hv prasad on diwali. Do u want to do the dessert on totally professional basis? I thot better to ask u before i explore my next choices.. By the way, the food critic is also at work.. In ur dessert u ve to reduce the quantity of rum n spice it with little tini mini sugar n sm cinnamon. Rite now, the overpowering taste is taking away the sinful pleasure.. Which has to come subtly and gradually, not as a bolt in ur mouth..

The dessert was a major hit with gunjan n all the other darbaris who came yesterday.. Ran short.. Got polished off in 5 secs flat!

The next person to taste some was Amitabh who shared his feedback...

Amitabh :Whatever it was, it was yummy :-)
Nachi: Thanks.... Was a tiramisu variant..... Chocolate tiramisu.... :)
Amitabh : Did it have some spirit in it as well?
Nachi: Yo! Rum in d cake n baileys in the mascarpone n cream layer :)
Amitabh: That explains that extra sting at the end.....mmm. Repeating soon? With more rum?
Nachi: Was it sting or shot of flavour?28th parshad....
Amitabh: :-) Had to have a quick bite to give a precise answer: the liquor is strong enough to tickle your nostrils and slightly overpowers the other subtle flavours of the tiramisu.....fine for people like me but may get the more sensitive Durbar gentry a bit tipsy.....;-)

So I took out the Rum Soaked raisins from my earlier preparation... and there we have it..... To-Die-For 'Chocolate Tiramisu'[excuse my immodesty but I really enjoyed it... :)]. The luxurious nature of this dessert just takes my heart away.... read more about it at Chocolate Tiramisu, the dessert of Decadence.

A big thank you to all my tasters for making me grin like a Cheshire Cat :)


While making the dessert... I would lick the remains of from the mixing bowl.... I was in L-O-V-E with it..... and totally ignored all the love handles it would give me... When we melted the chocolate to make the Chocolate Ganache... the aroma in the house was like a chocolate factory....... just sheer B-L-I-S-S.....

Since this was a layered dessert, had started preparations much earlier... like baking the sponge happened during the week and much needed hand-at-work was invited over... My sweet little Sous Chef for this task was Tarini, She was so helpful and such a delight to work with. Vibha and Vivekji also pitched in......

At the Durbar we have Bunty Bhaiya, Veena bua, Charu Aunty n Oditi immersed in various tasks....
Nikki, Gulla, Shrishti, my sweetie Ciona, Geetika and Sadhika... all of having a rollicking time....

How can I miss The imp.... Gunjan, Radhika Didi, Anjali, Yogita, Nikhil, Sonal and Lily..... Am so glad everyone enjoyed the Chocolate Tiramisu....

My specials.... Neha Didi, Nivritti[She was instrumental in getting the stickers on the lids...], Amitabh[one of my Sushi partners], Gaurav, Mini Didi and mom :)

Verdict:
It was just Fabulous... Mind blowing and we all enjoyed it..... What I enjoyed the most after all the hard work was so many of us coming together.... Letting go the ego of 'I made it' to feel grateful for all the wonderful people I'm blessed to have around me. The feeling is truly liberating. Would love to make this over and over again to see their eyes close and smiles wide on their faces.....
What's the similarity between a sincere kiss and sinfully yummy dessert.....
Most people enjoy them with their eyes closed...... and are always left wanting More.... :)

Shinky:
Hey Nachi, missed telling you this yesterday, tiramisu was just amazing ! You're just too good !! :) enjoyed every bite.

Meetu:
It was the most awesomelicious tiramasu I have had..... Great work Done :)

Celebration Tiramisu for Vivek*2

Both the Vivek's decide to have parties[Vivekji from Durbar for his promotion and Vivek from work for Diwali] and I offered to make dessert... What's it going to be..... Has to be Tiramisu cause that's what I've been tripping over for the last few days......

What's there in it not to repeat...... Loads of Coffee..... Loads of Rum in the form of Rum Soaked Raisins...... Topped with decadent Chocolate....

Luxurious Mascarpone cream..... Whipped into clouds of B-L-I-S-S.....
Make the luscious pastry using any of these recipes You Know.... It's For YOU, Tiramisu..., Chocolate Tiramisu ~ Amrita's Birthday, Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake for Baking Queen ~ Deeba's Birthday. Make Chocolate Ganache.

What I have is a kitchen full of Vanilla Sponge, Coffee, Rum n Chocolate..... how can I resist myself from eating it all before completing the desserts.....

Super Congratulations are in order for Vivek ji for his promotion.....

Vivek[from office] loves his alcohol so upped the rum soaked raisin in his bowl n made a martini glass as decoration.

Vivek's wife Pushpanjali is such a gracious host who let me potter around in her kitchen.... :) Yashna n I had a blast making pasta while the others played cards... ;)
Verdict:
Vivek ji: Mummy aapka desert party ka oasis tha n u looked beautiful....

Vibha: Hey! N thanks to u for such awesome dessert man! It was perfectly done n u excelled yourself totally! Your being there made the party fun :)

Madame you have totally taken the cake this time! Ur dessert wuz simply purrfect, the rite sweetness, body, silkiness.. I ve bin pigging on it today n hv bi sittin n appreciating all day..

Sorry to put u on such a high, .) but both my sisters have totally freaked on ur dessert wch i call choc tiramisu, n they think its the best that they've ever eaten! Now that u r an established best in the field, i hv prasad on diwali. Do u want to do the dessert on totally professional basis? I thot better to ask u before i explore my next choices.. By the way, the food critic is also at work.. In ur dessert u ve to reduce the quantity of rum n spice it with little tini mini sugar n sm cinnamon. Rite now, the overpowering taste is taking away the sinful pleasure.. Which has to come subtly and gradually, not as a bolt in ur mouth..

The dessert was a major hit with gunjan n all the other darbaris who came yesterday.. Ran short.. Got polished off in 5 secs flat!

Swati Longia:
Thank you !! :* heaven on earth....

Chocolate Fudge ~ Delighting Sanaa and Arshia

Sana and Arshia...... My neighbour's kids.... Aren't they adorable little dolls.... We can all see how much they loved the chocolate fudge.... :)

You can find the recipe of the Chocolate Fudge here.

Chocolate Fudge at Mehta's

Chocolate.... say it again slowly C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E...hhhhmmmmmm...... aren't you already drooling :)

Was going to visit my cousins for dinner n of course the kids would be there and the adult kids would be there so Dessert was pinned as my responsibility..... Do you hear me complaining.... absolutely not.... it's a total pleasure cooking up something for the kids n watch them relish it.....

This little one is Kanav... He ate my chocolate cake just day day before he was born.... :) Doesn't he look adorable.... He's quite a naughty imp.

That's Esha, Rohit[Kanav's dad] and my mom....
That's Nivritti, Rohit n Shruti[Kanav's mom].....

There goes Shruti..... Once we start laughing... just can't stop... guess it's in the genes.......

Guess who??????
Aunty n Shruit had put together some yummy snack n make-ure-own-pizza-with-topping that noone waited for pictures.... was devoured the second they reached the table... so sorry guys no pictures of the dinner..... next time for sure....

Now comes what everyone was waiting for.......
Chocolate Fudge.... divine... simply superb...... had seen this post on Suma's n at Nags..... I just had too... also my cousins just gave me 2 hours flat to whip up the dessert, get ready n reach there.... so what chocolate dessert can I whip up in under an hour?
CHOCOLATE FUDGE...... Here I come.....
Good god... recipe calls for pista... not there at home..... So I simply substitute and make my own fudge additives.... Rum Soaked Raisins, chopped Walnuts, chopped Almonds and some crumbled Biscuits. n as Suma says.... 'Don't forget the 2 tablespoons of Butter'....

This non dessert eating person turned into a chocolate monster......

You've just gotta have this fudge.... totally amazing..... so simple to put together n DIVINE to taste....