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Raspberry Truffle Tart Tested Recipe
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This giant raspberry-flavored
chocolate truffle, set
in a biscotti crust, is pure indulgence. The raspberry flavor comes from
adding raspberry sauce
to the creamy smooth mixture of chocolate and cream (a Ganache). Serve in
small slices as it is quite rich. Perfect with fresh berries, raspberry sauce, softly whipped cream, or
even creme fraiche.
A Raspberry Truffle Tart begins with a biscotti
crust. Although you could use homemade biscotti, for convenience sake,
store bought biscotti will do just fine. This is a simple crust to make,
just process the biscotti in a food processor until finely ground and then
stir in the melted butter. The crust is baked in a moderate oven until
golden brown. As the crust cools, make the truffle filling. The chocolate
truffle filling takes hot cream and pours it over chopped semi sweet or
bittersweet chocolate. Cream is the fat that rises to the top of whole
milk. It has a smooth, satiny texture and is labeled according to its
butterfat content (heavy to light). When making this filling, use 'Heavy'
Cream or Heavy 'Whipping' Cream which means it has a 36 - 40% butterfat.
Because of its superior flavor, I recommend using an organic brand of
heavy whipping cream. The taste and quality of any chocolate dessert is
also dependent on
the type of chocolate. Since there are so few ingredients in this
Raspberry Truffle Tart, the chocolate you pick is very important. Use a
good quality semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate that you enjoy eating out
of hand. When choosing a chocolate, always look for one that has a lovely
shiny finish (a sign that the chocolate was cooked at the right
temperature for the right amount of time) and one that has that wonderful
'snap' when you break it into pieces. My personal preference is a
chocolate containing at least 58% cacao, as this will
produce a filling that is firmer than one made with a chocolate that has a low
cocoa butter content. There are many excellent brands on the market. Guittard,
Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, Green & Black's Organic, Dagoba and Theo are
some of my favorites. Once the cream and chocolate are
stirred together, the raspberry sauce is then added. Raspberry sauce is
made from crushed raspberries (can use either fresh or frozen raspberries)
that have their seeds removed, sweetened with a little sugar. This sauce
is stirred into the melted chocolate and cream and imparts a wonderful
tangy raspberry flavor to this delicious tart. I like to refrigerate the
tart overnight so the flavors have time to soften and mingle.
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Raspberry
Truffle Tart: Preheat the oven
to 350 degrees F (180 degree C). Have ready a 8 - 9 inch (20 - 23 cm) fluted
tart pan.
Biscotti Crust: In
your food processor, place the biscotti and process until finely ground.
Transfer to a bowl and add the melted butter. Stir to combine. Press this
mixture over the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. Bake in the preheated
oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a
wire rack to cool completely before adding the filling.
Raspberry
Truffle Filling: First, make the raspberry sauce. Place 1 cup of fresh or
frozen raspberries, that have been thawed, in your food processor and process
until the raspberries are broken up. Pour into a strainer, set over a bowl, and
gently press the raspberries to extract their juices. Add sugar to taste. You will need
1/3 cup (80 ml) of raspberry sauce.
Place the chopped
chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate
and allow to stand for 5 minutes or until melted. Stir until smooth. Stir in 1/3 cup of
the raspberry sauce. Pour the chocolate filling into the baked and cooled crust,
smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
To Serve:
Cut into small slices and serve with fresh raspberries, raspberry sauce, whipped cream
and/or creme fraiche.
Serves about 12 -
14 people.
References:
De Laurentiis,
Giada. 'Giada's Family Dinners'. Clarkson/Potter Publishers. New York:
2006.
Longbotham, Lori.
'Luscious Berry Desserts'. Chronicle Books. San Francisco: 2006.
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Biscotti Crust:
8 ounces (225 grams) store bought biscotti, broken into pieces
5 - 6 tablespoons (70 - 84 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1/3 cup (80 ml) raspberry sauce (recipe follows)
10 ounces (280 grams) semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream (contains 36-40% butterfat)
Raspberry Sauce:
1 cup (240 ml) fresh or frozen raspberries (that have been thawed)
2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar, or to taste
Garnish:
Fresh raspberries
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