Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust

In this house we have a favorite chocolate tart-like cake, it's actually a flourless cake called Chocolate Intensity. I did decide to experiment with a new recipe and I'm glad I did. This recipe won't take the place of Jim's beloved Chocolate Intensity because it is different. It's darker with a hint of spice (cinnamon, ground black pepper, and ginger in the crust). Yum.

It uses A LOT of chocolate. 12 ounces of bittersweet, to be exact.


It was a really simple recipe, almost foolproof. I love press-in-the-pan kinds of crusts. Even better when its pure cookie and butter goodness.

I made a little bit of homemade whipped cream, barely sweet because I knew the chocolate tart would be all the sweet I'd need. Small slivers of tart for both my Sweetie and me.


Lots of leftovers. I did consider making small tartlettes and freezing the small tarts for later but I think the large tart pan just really needed to be used. It gets lonely in storage, you know?



What to do with the leftovers... ?

Click here for the stolen recipe for Dark Chocolate Tart with Gingersnap Crust. It's from one of my favorite bloggers.

Strawberry Extravaganza!

I went a little nuts today with the strawberries. My son and I went strawberry picking and we came home with 5 pounds! I didn't really have a plan but I found some easy things to make that didn't require a lot of planning or extra supplies.

First up, strawberry preserves. I don't have a finished picture, like on toast, but so far so good. I opened a jar and it seems to have set well and it's nice and chunky with fresh strawberries. It's also a little tart from the lemon zest and juice. Yum.





Second, the Strawberry Rhubart Tarts. I went searching on one of my favorite food blogs for anything with strawberries and rhubarb and this was perfect. It was something new when I really wanted to go with something familiar, like last summer's Strawberry Handpies, so I'm glad I headed into the unknown. I really am very glad that I made these, they are wonderful! I loved that I got to use my little tartlet pans and they are a perfect portion size. (We tend to overeat our sweets in this house :)

I was a little confused when I followed the recipe at the end, mixing the strawberries and rhubarb with cinnamon, brown sugar, and an egg. I figured it would work out well. Uh, yeah!

In between making the top two delicious items I was making Strawberry Frozen Yogurt, from none other than David Lebovitz. So easy! I think I might have found my favorite way to use my ice cream maker. It feels healthier using organic plain yogurt instead of the heavy cream and whole milk, and eggs, and lots of sugar.

It felt like all day I was cutting strawberries, mixing with it sugar, and letting it get happy for a while before using it in my cooking/baking. Lots of dishes going on! It was all so worth it! I'm trying to decide if I should go strawberry picking again next week- maybe make a whole pie! Oh my Jimmy would love me so much if I made a true strawberry rhubarb pie! (Did you notice that every sentence in this paragraph ended in an exclamation mark?!)

Yes, exciting stuff! Great day! :)

I am sharing some of the jam (it made two half pint jars), probably with my mother-in-law, and then I froze the remaining tarts after Jim and I each had one for dessert. I'm sure Jim will dig in tomorrow again though :)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Preserves.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Frozen Yogurt. (Perfect Scoop)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts.