I had some mixed success with short ribs bourguinon. I think the short ribs I used were too fatty - there didn't seem to be much meat on a lot of them. The meal was a stupendous amount of work for an average result, leaving me exhausted and a little dissatisfied.
Dessert, however, included this intense chocolate tart. My stepdad always requests a chocolate pie for holidays, and my mum usually obliges with the Jello pudding + Keebler crust deal. I wanted to prove that I could remake this classic dessert with better ingredients that also just happen to be safe for me to consume. The great thing about remaking this tart egg and dairy-free is that the chocolate provides a lot of the structure, so you don't have to worry so much about what you lose when you swap out ingredients.
It's just a big pile of chocolate. Its hard to mess up.
Gluten-free soy-free egg-free dairy-free Chocolate Tart (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
This recipe will make enough for a 9-inch tart pan
Sweet tart dough (Pate Sucree):
3 tablespoons unsalted margarine or butter, softened but not melted
1/2 cup powdered sugar (confectioners sugar), sifted
3 tablespoons almond meal or ground blanched almonds
Pinch of salt (omit if your margarine/butter is salted)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs or equivalent amount of egg replacer
1/3 cup + 3 tablespoons sorghum flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
You can use either a stand mixer or a food processor to make this dough, and I'm sure you can do it by hand as well. I used the stand mixer, so here are the directions for that method:
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the sorghum flour, tapioca and potato starches, and xanthan gum. Set aside.
Using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening together until smooth. Add the confectioners sugar and beat until well combined, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the almond meal, the salt (if using), and the vanilla one at a time, combining each ingredient into the dough before adding the next one. Add in the flour mixture, stirring only just until combined. Do not over mix!
With clean hands, gather the dough into a ball and press into a rough disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least four hours or up to two days.
When you are ready to use the dough, grease a 9-inch tart pan with butter or neutral oil.
Take the dough out of the fridge, unwrap it, and sandwich the disk between two large pieces of plastic wrap. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin on the counter or on a large cutting board. You will need to lift up the sheets of plastic periodically so that they don't get rolled into crevices in the dough. Also, you will need to flip the dough over periodically so you can roll out the other side. If the dough gets too soft and sticky, pop it back in the fridge on top of the cutting board or a baking sheet.
When the dough has been rolled out large enough to cover the bottom and sides of your tart pan, peel off the top layer of plastic and carefully flip the dough over and lay the exposed side down in the tart pan, centering it. Peel off the other sheet of plastic, which should now be on top, and press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan. It will probably crack and break, but you can repair by patching up the cracks with excess dough, moistened with water.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 and line the unbaked tart shell with parchment paper, then weigh down with dry rice or beans or pie weights. Cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning, and bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Remove the parchment paper, weights, and foil, and bake for another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.
Chocolate Filling:
12 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup unsweetened MimicCream or heavy cream
1 packet (2 1/2 teaspoons) gelatin or agar-agar (to make this vegan)
1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer
3 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp boiling water
(if you can eat eggs, use 3 egg yolks instead of the gelatin, Ener-G and waters)
3 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened but not melted
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 baked 9-inch tart shell (see above)
Put the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
Put 2 tablespoons of cold water in a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, and sprinkle the gelatin or agar agar over it. Let soften for 2 minutes. In the meantime, mix the Ener-G egg replacer and the remaining 1 tablespoon of cold water in a separate small bowl. Add the 1 tablespoon boiling water to the gelatin mixture, stir to combine, then add the Ener-G mixture. Beat with a stand mixer, handheld mixer, or whisk until frothy. Add 1 tablespoon of the MimicCream and briefly beat.
Put the rest of the MimicCream in a saucepan with the vanilla bean. Bring to a full boil, then turn off the heat. Pull out the vanilla bean (not with your fingers!) and pour the cream over the chocolate in the bowl. Give the hot cream about 30 seconds to melt the chocolate, then whisk gently, combining the cream and chocolate. Add in the gelatin-egg replacer mix (or yolks), still whisking gently, then add the butter. Now you will have a beautiful, dark, shiny ganache.
Gently pour the ganache into the tart crust, making sure the surface is smooth. Leave the tart out on the counter and keep an eye on it to see if it sets. Depending on the various egg, cream, etc substitutes you used, and the temperature of your kitchen, the ganache may or may not set at room temperature. If it will not set, pop it (covered) in the fridge for an hour.
This tart is best served at room temperature, so if you refrigerate it, remove and let sit at room temperature at least half an hour before eating.
