Mary Poppins famously and lyrically observed that a teaspoon of sugar facilitates the ingestion of medication. But what if you're making something that's not medication and is already plenty sweet?
In that case, don't underestimate the power of chiles. Mexico discovered long ago that chocolate and spices play extremely nicely together. Mexican hot chocolate is a wonderful blend of chocolate, cinnamon (or canela) and other spices. Mole sauce is used in savory dishes but blends a trace of chocolate with chiles and various flavors. And the last few years have seen a slew of delicious chile-infused chocolate bars.
It was with this in mind that I decided on a whim to make a tiny addition to a Chocolate Truffle Tart last night. My initial plan was to make it as specified in the book, but I thought a bit of cayenne powder might make it slightly more interesting. I mixed in 1/4 teaspoon of it when I added the salt, figuring people wouldn't even notice such a tiny quantity but that it would add a tiny zip.
Don't underestimate the power of chiles. When I tasted the un-baked filling, the chile added a little tingle. And when I fed it to my colleagues today, a few of them noted that "it almost tastes a little bit spicy." They thought this was a positive trait, and so did I. That tiny bit of cayenne took what was already a very rich and flavorful tart, and added just a bit of intrigue.
Regrettably, I didn't take any photos of the tart. Suffice it to say that it looked like, well, a chocolate tart. Here's the recipe. Make one yourself and you'll know what it looked like :)
Chocolate Chile Tart
(adapted from Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook)
Crust (Pate Sucree)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (140 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 egg yolk
1. With stand mixer, cream together butter, sugar and salt on medium speed for 2-3 mins. Add the flour and beat on low speed until combined (30 seconds). Add the egg yolk and mix until the dough comes together (30 seconds).
2. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour, then warm to room temperature for 30 mins.
3. Roll out the dough so it is about 11" in diameter, lift and press into a 10" tart pan
4. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
5. Bake crust @ 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until golden. Remove and cool.
Filling
8 oz bittersweet chocolate (>70% cacao)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks
2 TBSP butter at room temp
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne chile powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. Place chocolate in medium bowl. Combine milk and cream in a saucepan and scald (heat to 150 degrees; do not boil) over medium-high heat. Pour the milk and cream over the chocolate and let sit 1 minute. Then whisk until smooth. Whisk in the egg yolks one at a time, then the butter, salt and cayenne. Whisk until butter is incorporated completely.
3. Put the crust on a baking sheet (for ease of handling) and pour the filling into the crust.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges begin to set and the middle is still jiggly. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Refrigerate, but let warm to room temperature for several hours before serving.
5. Dust the top with the cocoa using a fine-mesh sieve.
