Tarte Noire

One of the many things I love about Tuesdays with Dorie is that we make lots of recipes I never would have thought would be good and others which I would have thought were too hard for me. This tarte noire was one of the later. I've enjoyed slivers of deep, dark chocolate tarts in Paris and was in love since the very first one I had.

It was our first trip to Paris and we were still in that first year where you fight a lot have many misunderstandings. We'd had a fight difference of opinion and I stormed out of the hotel and set off walking. I walked all over Paris and in my ultimate act of defiance, I went to La Maison du Chocolat alone. I spied these mini chocolate tarts and I had to have one. Even though I was angry, I wanted to take something back for M., so I asked for four rochers. I was showing off, using the twelve words of French that I know, so I was quite shocked when she handed me a bag with four rocher that were larger than golf balls instead of the tiny bon bons I thought I'd asked for. One of the pitfalls of pretending you speak a language that you don't is you get things you didn't ask for and you have neither the nerve to admit you made a mistake nor the words to ask for what you really wanted. So I headed back to the hotel with the huge chocolate golf balls. I had no idea what kind of mood M. would be in (though, truth be told, his moods were far more rational than mine) but having scarfed down my mini chocolate tart, I was ready to find out.

He had gone out after I stormed out, and at the little grocery store across from our hotel he found pear/peach flavored bottled water that he knew I'd like. So he bought it for me. I gave him the rochers and he gave me the waters, and all was good with the world. Those rochers remain one of our favorite things. The water only lasted a few years before the store stopped stocking it. To this day, neither of us can remember what we argued about.

I always thought chocolate tarts were difficult. Tart shells don't like me. Dorie's tart crust, supposedly easy to pat in the tart pan, only highlights my inability to do anything evenly. A while ago I saw Deb's post that she solved that problem by adding the whole egg, not just the yolk, to the dough. Eureka! This enabled me to roll out the tart shell and get the flat bottom and sharp sides I had been missing.

Look at those sharp sides and even bottom!

The star of the tart is the filling. Use your very best chocolate because that is where your flavor is coming from. I gradually heat the cream rather than cranking it up to high to avoid breakage. Stir the ganache from the center and slowly. I thought I'd get creative and make a swirl pattern in my tart so I let it set a little before attacking it with a palette knife. BIG MISTAKE. Some of the chocolate had started setting and my swirl made it look grainy. Panicked, I heat an offset spatula over the flame of a burner and reswirled the top until the chocolate had smoothed out.

This tart was a huge hit at work. It was cruel of me to take 3/4 of a 9 inch tart for 60 people, but I had to get it out of the house. Our host this week is the fabulous Jessica of bliss: towards a delicious life. I love reading Jessica's blog because she can write, unlike my stream-of-consciousness babbling. Thanks, Jessica, for bringing back a great memory and helping me overcome my tart shell demons.

If you'd like the recipe for this delectable tart, Jessica has it for you here. But really, you should buy the book everyone is talking about, Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I was a decent baker before I joined TWD, but the things I've made from this book in the last almost-two years have honed my skills considerably.

NOTE:  If you'd like to see the ethereal tarte noir from La Maison du Chocolat, stop over at Nancy's. She included a photo in her post.

Chocolate Macarons

Dear Diary,

I will never again complain about the price of macarons. I will gratefully and happily hand over as many Euro as the nice people behind the counter want. I will marvel at their crisp, crumbly shell, chewy interior, glorious feet and decadent filling.

And the next time I get to pick the recipe for a blog event, I'm picking something easy.

Signed,
Me

When the time came for me to pick the recipe for this month's Chocolate with Francois, I swallowed deeply and typed "chocolate macarons." This because we adore macarons, and whenever we go to Paris, we always pick up our favorites and try some new ones. I always thought it would be nice to make them myself, but never did. This gave me the perfect excuse.

I did a lot of research, and the more I learned, the more stressed out I became. I learned that macarons are temperamental. That small changes in temperature, humidity, the moisture in the almond meal, changing your hair color (OK, maybe not that) can wreck your macarons. That cracks, dull-looking macs, footless macs and other horrors are all too easy to produce, especially if you're new to mac making. Should you age your egg whites (some are adamant, others say it doesn't make a difference)? My head was spinning with the Important Choices I was facing.

But every journey starts by putting one foot in front of the other, so I went step by step and just pushed through.

Sifting the dry ingredients is hard when the almond meal is coarse

I first made the recipe about a week and a half ago and learned a lot. The macarons turned out OK, not great, but sort of dull, lumpy and a bit hard. I had made most of them the size of a quarter as the book said and got tons of hard little buttons of cookies. I decided I'd try to fit them in again before our posting date. That ended up being last night after I came home from work.

The sugar syrup took forever to come up to temperature

It was 10:30 PM by the time I finished the second batch, and my photos are pretty bad as a result, but the macarons looked so much better than the first batch. They tasted better, and had much better texture. Here's what I learned:

• This post was invaluable to me. I liked the scientific explanation of what can go right (and wrong) when you're making macs. This one, the quintessential Bakerella method, was another valuable source of information and technique.

• I weighed all of my ingredients using the metric measurements Payard provides in the book.

• You can make the ganache before starting on the macarons. It took my ganache a full two hours to chill both times, and the second time I gave up after two hours and stuck it in the fridge for 30 minutes. I was tired. 

• When I make these again, I'll make one and one-half times the ganache recipe. I like how a thicker layer of ganache looks (and tastes!)

• Bob's Red Mill almond meal/flour is too coarse for these. The first time I made the recipe, I used the almond flour without evening it out in the blender (or drying in the oven as one writer suggested) and my macs were very, umm, extruded looking. The second time I popped the almond flour and cocoa in the blender to make it even finer and it worked (though be very careful to pulse, not puree or you'll end up with chocolate almond butter-probably yummy but not the recipe we're making.)

• The first time, my egg whites ended up too firm and that contributed to the extruded appearance and texture. The second time, I beat the egg whites on speed 4 on the KitchenAid, and took it down to 2 when they seemed to be getting too far ahead of the sugar (which took a lifetime to go from 230 to 250 degrees.)

• After adding the hot sugar syrup, I stopped beating the egg whites before the bottom of the bowl was cool the second time. It was still warmish though certainly not hot when I turned off the mixer. This kept me from beating it into the dense, rubbery substance I got the first time.

• I used a larger tip for the piping bag the second time, and that reduced hand strain and made it possible for the larger bits of almond meal to slip by.

• The second time, I baked on the middle and lower shelves of the oven. This is because my oven preheats in cycles from the bottom, sides and top of the oven, which it did after I turned the oven back on after the 5 minute rest period. That gave the macs on the top rack a bit of a sunburn. They were still delicious but didn't look as nice.

• If you want a thrill, turn on your oven light when you turn the oven back on after the 5 minute rest. You will see the macarons rise before your eyes, forming the feet that are one of the elements of a successful mac. Try not to shout "FEET! THEY HAVE FEET!" because you'll scare everyone in the house.

• When you press the top mac onto the frosting and bottom mac, don't press too hard against the sheet pan or the mac will crack. 

• After I finished making these last night at 10:30, I snuck over to my friend Susan's blog and read her post. She had a lot of valuable insights into making these. One of the things she said is that she loved how crispy the macarons were fresh, but missed the crispy shell after the macarons had softened up in the refrigerator. So I experimented with leaving them out overnight. The macarons that I put in an airtight container and left on the counter softened up much like they do in the fridge. But the ones I left out on a plate (uncovered) were still crisp outside with chewy middles...pretty yummy in my book. Now, the humidity in my house is about 40% since our climate is dry. I don't expect these to last very long so I think I'll store them uncovered.

The dry ingredients mixed with some of the egg whites

Adding the hot sugar to the egg whites

This meringue was over beaten and the macs tough as a result

Adding the meringue to the dry ingredients

Tuck your bag into the tip before filling it to avoid leakage

Macs the size of a quarter are tiny!

The first batch: a little disappointing

The second batch...much improved

So there you have it. If someone like me...lazy, messy, not meticulous or fussy, can make decent, yes, even delicious, macarons, so can you. Please visit the other Chocolate with Francois bakers to see their macarons...they're an inspiring group of bakers.

Here's the recipe from the book, Chocolate Epiphany:

Francois Payard says: The macaron is the most Parisian of all cookies, found most famously at the shops Laduree, Fauchon or Pierre Herme. There cannot be a chocolate book by a French pastry chef without a recipe for chocolate macarons! Plus, they're addictive: a rich ganache is sandwiched between two meringues that have a crusty exterior shell and a chewy, moist interior. You can fill them with pistachio puree or seedless raspberry jam if you want, but my favorite will always be this chocolate classic. Unlike most macaron recipes, other than Laduree's, these are made with a cooked meringue. Anything with meringue is sensitive to humidity; make these only on dry days.

Chocolate Macarons (makes about 30 macarons)
Printable recipe
Macarons:
3 2/3 cups (450 grams) confectioners' sugar
4 cups (400 grams) almond flour or finely ground blanched almonds
7 tablespoons (44 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
9 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar

Ganache:
4 ounces (120 grams) 50% chocolate, chopped
2 ounces (53 grams) 100% chocolate, chopped
4 1/2 teaspoons (27 grams) light corn syrup
1 cup (240 grams) heavy cream

Make the macarons:
Place a rack each in the upper and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats. If you have enough baking sheets,  double them up (this will prevent the macarons from baking too fast).

Sift together the confectioners' sugar, almond flour, and cocoa powder over a large bowl. Stir in 4 of the egg whites, until the mixture is smooth and lump-free.

With a candy thermometer handy, combine the granulated sugar and 1/2 cup (125 grams) water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. If sugar sticks to the sides of the pan, dip a pastry brush in water and brush the sides.

While the sugar is cooking, put the remaining 5 egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the whisk attachment. Once the sugar reaches 230 degrees on the candy thermometer, start beating the eggs on medium speed. When the sugar reaches 250 degrees, pour it into the eggs in a slow stream, with the mixer running, down the inside of the bowl. Continue beating until the meringue is thick and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch.

With a silicone spatula, gently fold the meringue into the dry ingredients, in four increments. Fold until everything is well combined.

Spoon the batter into a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag, and cut a 1/2 inch opening in the tip or corner of the bag. Pipe the batter into quarter-size disks on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between macarons. The macarons should have a uniform size. Let them sit out at room temperature for 15 minutes, until a skin forms. This will transform into a beautiful crust on the finished macarons.

Put the macarons in the oven, and turn the oven off for 5 minutes. After that time, turn it back on to 400 degrees, and continue baking for 8 minutes, until a crust forms and they are soft inside. Remove from oven and let the macarons cool on the pans.

Make the ganache:
Combine both chocolates and the corn syrup in a medium bowl. Pour the cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Pour over the chocolate, and whisk until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Let the ganache cool, stirring periodically with a silicone spatula, until it reaches pipeable consistency, about 60 minutes. It should feel like a thick icing.

Assemble the macarons:
Turn the silicone baking mat over, and carefully pull it away from the macarons, to free them. Turn half of the macarons over, so that their flat side is facing up.

Spoon the ganache into a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag, and cut a 1/2-inch opening in the tip or corner of the bag. Pipe a nickel-size amount of ganache in the center of the macarons that are facing up. Gently press the remaining macarons over the ganache, to make small sandwiches. Try to match the size of the two halves as closely as possible.

Store the macarons in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to two months.

TWD - Chocolate Caramel Chestnut Cake

People, did you notice it's November already? I'm shocked. I'm also SOOOO behind on everything, and not just in the blog part of my life. Which is why I haven't been by to visit you recently. Sorry about that!

See, we got home from our family vacation late Monday night (a week ago!), and the delicious feeling of posts in the queue evaporated on Tuesday. The feeling of MUST POST NOW started overtaking the feeling of MUST HAVE CLEAN LAUNDRY NOW, and the two struggled until I found myself two days later with clean laundry hanging all over the house and three unfinished recipes littering the kitchen.

One of these three recipes was last week's chocolate caramel chestnut cake, chosen for us by Katya of Second Dinner. I had initially resisted this recipe as it was "due" the day after we got back from vacation, but when Laurie gave us the flexibility to mix up the recipes this week, I reconsidered making it. When I found the chestnut puree and chestnuts in Paris (at Monoprix, a combo department/drug/grocery store) for a fraction of what they would have cost me at home, the bargain factor kicked in and I resolved to make this when I returned home.

While in Paris, I picked up a nasty respiratory infection that I am still battling, and that made it harder to settle back into a routine once we got home. Still, I made the cake part of the cake and froze it for a few days until I had an event suitable for such a classy dessert.

The event? A silent auction for our P.E.O. chapter. I bought gold luster dust and brushed it on the chestnuts for the decoration on top of the cake. Since I assembled the cake at 4:30 AM on the day of the auction, I forgot to use both the syrup (which I made with water instead of brandy) and chopped chestnuts between the layers. The finished cake wasn't as perfect as I wanted it to be, but the gold chestnuts gave it polish.

The cake was delicious with the ganache and the glaze (I made myself a scrap taste using cuttings from what I cut off the domed top layer), but I would have liked more chocolate flavor (I'm not a milk chocolate fan). I intend to make the caramel ganache again with bittersweet chocolate and salt, since what's not to love about salted caramel ganache?

Thanks, Katya for choosing a cake I never would have undertaken on my own. It wasn't so difficult and the flavors were interesting together. If you'd like the recipe, buy the book (Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan) or stop by Katya's as she has it posted.

Chocolates from Paris - my first giveaway!

I meant to mention this in last night's mega post on our Paris trip, but I brought back something to share with the winner of my first ever giveaway...

This 14 piece assortment is from our very favorite chocolatier, La Maison du Chocolat. I believe they are dark chocolates based on the ribbon color, but the pamphlet gives descriptions of all of the chocolates.

If you'd like to enter, please leave a comment telling me where you would like to vacation (if money wasn't a consideration) and why. The winner will be randomly chosen from all comments received by 9:00 (Pacific time) Tuesday, May 26th. Valid in the US and Canada only (sorry!)

I'm so excited to read about your vacation dreams!

UPDATE: THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR ENTRIES, BUT THE VOTING IS NOW CLOSED.

Our trip to Paris

Bon jour mes amis.

I'm still mentally in Paris, so this post is a joy to create for you. Here are some random images to share...

The birds eat the crumbs at this cafe.

Paris has a rental bike program. We didn't take advantage of it, but we saw a lot of people on these bikes all over town. There are frequent pick up and drop off stations like these...

I didn't realize how behind I was on the current styles until I saw this lamp. Marked 725 Euros (over $1,000), it wasn't on my wish list.

The pyramid at the Louvre, at night (obviously!)

And by day

We visited the panoramic terrace on the top of the Printemps department store. They had these rabbits up there that they were placing throughout the store.

We picnicked on the tip of the Île de la Cité.

The Arc De Triomphe by day...

And with the sun setting through the arch.

We did some of this...

And this...

And thanks to Dorie Greenspan's recommendations, a lot of this...

As predicted, we spent a lot of time plotting our next macaron, walked off the map (literally) and slept a ridiculous amount (we were both very tired). We strolled through and got completely lost in the Bois de Bologne (a HUGE parkland on the west side of Paris, hunting grounds of royal families past). We walked from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées, past the Louvre and down the Seine, to the Bastille, almost on a daily basis. We discovered new (to us) parks and gardens. Paris is our favorite city, and we've been fortunate that M.'s work has taken him to France a couple of times a year. I sometimes go with him, but it's been a while since we've gone together. This trip allowed us to rediscover the things we love, and discover new favorites.

One day was M's surprise day, and it was filled with chocolate. After doing excessive research, I selected a couple (okay, eight) of the top chocolatiers for us to visit and purchase some chocolates to do a side by side tasting. M. was delighted to find we would be spending the day tasting, buying and hoarding chocolate. We have been devoted to La Maison du Chocolat for many years, and we wanted to find out if they still had the best chocolates (in our opinion).

We started at Debauve & Gallais, one of if not the oldest chocolatier in Paris. The chocolates are old fashioned, without the flavor inventiveness that one frequently finds in chocolates these days (chocolate with cheese, anyone?)

We hit the biggie, Pierre Herme, next. We weren't huge fans of his chocolates, but his pastries and macarons are the ultimate. I would simply run out of gushing adjectives if I had to describe the buttery croissants, the velvety caramel pastry cream in the 2000 feuilles. The perfection of the chocolate macarons. The rose macarons. You have no idea how hard it was not to park myself outside his door and eat three meals a day there. We were there on a weekday, but when we passed by on Saturday, the line was out the door.

After Pierre Herme, we visited Christian Constant. His shop was very inviting with grand displays of candied fruits in the windows. We purchased about a dozen bon bons and moved on.

Next, we visited Jean-Charles Rochoux, with his chocolate alligators in the window. His creations were amazingly inventive, and the aroma walking into the door was intoxicating. They must have made the fleur de sel caramels the day we visited, because the air was redolent with caramelized sugar.

It was hard to tear ourselves away and move on, but we regretfully left and walked a short distance to Jean-Paul Hevin. His chocolates were beautiful and modern and we had a hard time making our choices.

Next, we headed to Patrick Roger. The skies were darkening and we hadn't brought the umbrella, but all was forgotten when we entered Roger's shop. We made a selection of chocolates and macarons and stepped outside to plot our next move.

We still had two shops left, Michel Chaudun and La Maison du Chocolat, but we were tiring and a light rain was starting to fall. We hurried in the direction of the Métro, but it quickly became clear that the raindrops were becoming rainfall. We grabbed seats under cover at a cafe and ordered Cokes to nurse while we rode out the rain.

M. guarded our shopping bag of chocolate to prevent it from getting wet, and after it started hailing, we decided to move inside as our jeans were getting wet from the spray. After spending 45 minutes there, hitting Chaudun was out of the question as they were now closed. We thought we could make La Maison du Chocolat, but we would have to hurry. We arrived there two minutes before closing, and selected just a few of our favorite pralines and ganaches. Then it was back to the hotel for the tasting.

We tasted ganaches side by side, and the flavor differences were very pronounced. Here is a photo of our "tasting notes" (that sounds way too grand for the rudimentary numbering system we used.) The results:

1. La Maison du Chocolat

2. Patrick Roger

3. Jean-Charles Rochoix

4. (tie) Pierre Herme, Jean-Paul Hevin

5. Christian Constant

6. Debauve & Gallais

These were just our preferences, and none of these chocolates were bad, they were just different degrees of great.

We ate dinner one night at Laduree. We love Laduree and always have great meals there. I had an appetizer (called an "entree" in France) of a floating island with gazpacho. It was out of this world good. My main course (called a "plate") was salmon over pain perdu with melted fresh mozzarella and reduced balsamic vinegar and a few other things that escape me now. WOW! That meal reminded me of the connection between good food and the pleasure center of our brain. So many times we eat a lot of food but don't feel satisfied; I believe what we are looking for is taste satisfaction, not quantity, in order to feel satiated. My taste buds were dancing and my entire body felt like there was a mild electric charge running through it.

On our last night, we strolled from our hotel to the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Élysées, through the Tuileries, past the Louvre, along the Seine, into St. Germain and then the Latin Quarter for dinner. As we slowly walked back, we tried to drink in the sights, smells and feeling of being in the most beautiful city, to save and nurture it after we returned home. We're still under its spell, and I hope we will be for a long time to come.

Lethally Delicious is on Vacation

Lethally Delicious is closing the kitchen and taking a little R&R in our favorite city.

We'll be walking by the Seine, making picnics and eating a ridiculous amount of pastry, chocolate and bread. I'll take you all with me in my heart and try to share some of the journey from the road.

I tried, but I just couldn't crank out the Garden Risotto (chosen by Jessica of A Singleton in the Kitchen) for Craving Ellie in My Belly and the Tartest Lemon Tart (chosen by Babette of Babette Feasts) for Tuesdays with Dorie. That's a real shame as they both look like great recipes from a couple of my favorite bloggers. I do have some sweet treats lined up for you to enjoy while the kitchen is closed.

We'll be back in the kitchen before you know it, maybe with a French accent, but still cooking and baking away, making a ridiculous mess and loving every minute.

Peace.