Torte au Chocolat (Chocolate Mousse Tart with a Hazelnut Crust)

As tasty as it looks.

This is what we were planning to make with the Bouchon’s Chocolate Mousse that posted the other day. Basically, a simple chocolate-hazelnut tart. And, it is pretty simple. A simple crust that you bake and fill with chocolate mousse. Nothing more. But, don’t let simple fool you into thinking that it won’t stand out. Sometimes the simplest desserts can be the best.

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Chocolate, Praline, and Cocoa Nib Tart

Chocolate Praline and cocoa nib tart

Chocolate Praline and cocoa nib tart
It took us years before we tackled this tart.

As soon as we saw this tart, we knew we’d make it one day. It took us a couple of years to work up to it, but we finally did it, making nearly everything from scratch. So, now you know why we had posts for feuilletine and almond-hazelnut praline paste; it was all in preparation for this one dessert. It also turns out that this is our 1000th recipe posted (well, really the fueilletine is number 1000, and the almond-hazelnut praline paste 1001, but both are specific for this recipe, so we’ll consider it number 1000).

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Chocolate Caramel Tart

chocolate caramel tart

chocolate caramel tart
Cocoa nibs for visual and textural interest.

We know that we just had several days of dessert posts earlier in the week, but you can blame it on Eat an Extra Dessert Day (September 4; look it up). While it doesn’t help this year, keep this tart in mind for next year’s EaEDD.

Actually, we made this tart to bring to an afternoon Labor Day party. Since the party started in the afternoon, and we’re so big on the freshness of our foods, we choose a dessert that we could easily make in the morning and have ready by noon. (Well, it still needs just a touch of work in advance, but it’s easy). You’ll see.

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French Blueberry Tart

French blueberry tart

French blueberry tart
This tart comes with its own sauce!

Sometimes, everything just comes together as if preordained. Such as with this tart. We had several pints of blueberries sitting in the refrigerator, we knew we’d be picking up a log of goat cheese from the CSA, and, we were browsing Eric Lanlard’s new book, Afternoon Tea, and saw this recipe. We felt we were fated to make this tart. And, now that you’re reading this, perhaps you’re fated to make this tart, too. Don’t worry, we’ll help.

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Goat Cheese and Onion Tart

plated tart

goat cheese onion tart
With a side and some bread, a complete meal.

We mentioned on Wednesday that we had an onion tart in our near future, but, what we didn’t say was that we weren’t going to make a tart based on our Alsace Onion Tartlets recipe. Instead, we decided to make a tart with some of the goat cheese that we get from Black Mesa Ranch through the Tucson CSA. It’s not that much different in terms of effort, but, we think it is in terms of flavor. Either is a great way to use a lot of onions quickly, but surprisingly, the tarts don’t taste onion-y. Want to try it for yourself? We’ll show you what we did in the Scratchin’ It Test Kitchen.

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Lemon Sabayon Tart

slice of meyer lemon tart

slice of meyer lemon tart
Bright, light, and lemony!

Just last week, we picked up a couple of pounds of Meyer lemons at the store, so we needed to make something from them. We also need some practice in making lemon curd, too. Perfect, right? Well, not quite, as what would you do with a bowlful of lemon curd all by itself? (Our final plan is to use it between layers of a lemon cake).

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Tarte Tatin

Classic tarte Tatin

Classic tarte Tatin
Trés bon!

Whoa, there. Are you trying to click away from this post after reading the title because you think that it’ll be too difficult for you? Well, stop.

Like you, when we first saw this recipe (over 2 years ago) we thought that it would be beyond our capabilities. In fact, the original recipe is titled “Worth-the-Effort Tarte Tatin.” Worth-the-Effort? Nothing like making this seem nigh on impossible for anyone without decades of pastry-making experience. But, we here at Scratchin’ Central are going to let you in on a secret. Tarte tatin is pretty much just an upside-down apple pie. And, since it’s upside down, no one will even look to see if the crust is perfect.

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