Tuesdays with Julia and Dorie: Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

MY "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY" DESSERT FOR KRIS AND HUBBY

 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME & HUBBY!

Hubby called and invited me out to lunch or to dinner, which ever I would prefer.  I chose dinner and told him I would bake a luscious treat for our special day, an after dinner dessert.

I baked the Chocolate Truffle Tartlets which will be posted in just a few days, and from their photo, they appeared to be a decadent delight that Hubby would enjoy.  Good choice!

READY FOR PRE-BAKING

HOT OUT OF THE OVEN

Hubby and I are both chocolaholics.  Everyone who has married into our family has been fairly warned in advance that there will be chocolate, in some form, at almost every family meal.  My Frolicking Night Owl daughter has trained her 3 kiddies to love dark chocolate which they all prefer...milk chocolate usually does not cut it in our family.

Even though it was a special day, it was also a very stressful day...a day of one problem after another.  I'd finally had it...felt like I could explode.  So I hit the kitchen and quickly forgot the day's issues as I tasted and smelled, stirred and rolled chocolate for a couple of hours.  Then I cooked a wonderful anniversary dinner that complemented our chocolate tarts.

Hubby walked through the door just as everything was ready and was surprised by the table all set and ready for dinner with my special meal...He was expecting to go out for the evening, but loved the idea of eating in.  He brought flowers for our table, more for our front entry, and even more for our bathroom...so thoughtful and so beautiful.   As he got himself ready for dinner I plated my special desserts.  I liked the Baker's Extravaganza idea...if I'd had another hour I'd have done it...sounds fabulous, but there needs to be a "next time" for this dessert.

I added mini scoops of "homemade" rocky road ice cream to the tart tops which insured that we would eat dessert first, before the ice cream melted.  Another good idea!  I would never have been able to eat the whole thing at the end of our meal, but when we were starving at the beginning, our tarts were devoured and loved...every bite.

FILLED AND READY TO BAKE

Hubby wondered if the tart was a type of brownie?  No.  To me it was more like a very rich baked pudding...well, truffle is the recipe's description.  And it was perfect with ice cream.  The crunches of white chocolate, milk chocolate, and (dark chocolate, almond) biscotti chunks were inspired additions by the recipe's creator, David Ogonowski.

THE TARTS BAKED NICELY IN 14 MINUTES at 300^

Some notes:

The tart dough was delicious and did turn out very pretty, but it is not the easiest to work with...needs a gentle touch and sometimes a bit of patching here and there.  It reminds me of a mix between a rolled out crust dough and a press in dough.  About half my crusts rolled out perfectly, and the other half tore in a place or two...not to worry, they patched up just fine.

I froze the tart dough in the pans for 20 minutes before pre-baking.  I tried a couple without pricking and they baked as nicely as the pricked ones.  Also, nothing seeped through the pricked holes...I thought it might as we were instructed by the recipe to use a lined jelly-roll pan while baking.

Then, when the tarts were finished and being removed from their pans, all went very well  (I kept the removable bottoms in the pans and all tarts came out perfectly)  but I was careful and used a gentle touch.  I felt like the crusts, which are light and flaky, could easily crush or break.  (I rolled out to 1/8" thickness.)

COMPARING MY TARTS TO THE PHOTO IN OUR BOOK...I DECIDED THE BOOK SHOWED PRE-BAKED TARTS

So far, 2 out of 2 five star recipes for this book.  Glad to enjoy today's baking experience for both the crust and the tart filling...both are terrific!

I'm sure to see some very fancy and delicious looking tarts in all your posts.  I'm already dreaming about baking these tarts again!

This week's selection for Tuesdays with Dorie: Baking with Julia was Chocolate Truffle Tartlets hosted by Spike of Spike Bakes, here, Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon, here, Jaime of Good Eats, here, and Sweet Treats, and Jessica of Cookbookhabit, here.  Or, you can purchase BAKING WITH JULIA and join our group for some truly great baking experiences.

Please check out their sites for the recipe for this week's challenge.