Nutella Tart

 

I made this as a birthday tart since the birthday boy wasn't too into cakes. I have an indecently large supply of Nutella, so I jumped at the chance to use up some (it was the result of a momentary lapse of judgment at Costco, I have since learned that no one can eat that much Nutella).

This tart from Pierre Herme shows off his genius at combining textures. A crumbly tart crust is first topped with a dense, creamy layer of nutella, then a layer of rich moist chocolate filling (half way between pudding and ganache) is spread on top. Crunchy hazelnuts complete the picture. Taking a cue from his Tart Grenobloise, I piped some caramel sauce on top to add some smokiness and depth. 

Here's a cross-section from one of the tartlets I made. You can see all the layers very clearly.

Need I mention that everyone loves this tart?

Tarte aux Pommes au Four / Baked Apple Tart

"When life gives you apples, make apple tart."

A coworker brought a case of Fuji apples to the office last week. The nerve! With the goal of fattening coworkers in mind, I couldn't stand idly by while people helped themselves to healthy(!) snacks. I stealthily commandeered the last half dozen apples, resolving to return them back to the office in a more sumptuous and calorie-laden form.

Linzer Tart

I've been on a Pierre Hermé streak lately. I got his Chocolate Desserts from the library, and I've been flipping through it for inspiration whenever I wanted to bake something for a friend. Last time it was the chocolate pecan caramel Tart Grenbloise. This time, I wanted something more vibrant and brightly-flavored. I was thinking about a warm chocolate blueberry tart (yes, it's a good flavor combination) until I saw the photo of the linzer tart in the front insert. It was a photo of luscious chocolate ganache being spread onto a ruby red, seed-studded tart. I knew it was linzer tart, and I just had to make it.

When I envision linzer tart, I see the latticed-top version with raspberry jam peeking out behind the bars. This version, however, adds a rich chocolate ganache on top of crumbly, cinnamon-flavored crust and homemade raspberry jam. Since I'm still recovering from the super dense chocolate cream ganache in the Tart Grenbloise, I decided to make Pierre Hermé's chocolate milk ganache instead. The result was fantastic, a perfect balance between the acidity and brightness of raspberries and the deep chocolate ganache. The chocolate milk ganache had a pleasantly light texture, somewhere between truffle filling and chocolate mousse, and it matched well with the crumbly tart shell (well, whatever was left of the tart shell, anyway... more on that story below). I purposely kept the chocolate layer thin so it wouldn't bully the other flavors (or my palette), and it worked out very well.

Tarte Grenobloise / Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tart

I like to bake for special occasions. When a dear coworker announced his departure to start a new career with the government (the suit-wearing, sunglasses-donning, UFO-investigating type), I wanted to leave him with something sweet to remember us by.

I found this recipe for Tarte Grenobloise in Pierre Hermé's Chocolate Desserts book. Traditionally, this is a double-crusted tart filled with an assortment of nuts. Pierre Hermé's version uses pecans (!), a big novelty for the French, and tucks in a layer of smooth chocolate ganache on the bottom. It's kind of like a chocolate pecan pie, Parisian style.