The Simple Decadence of Chocolate

Next weekend I'll be teaching a chocolate dessert class. I said I'd never do cooking classes. I don't know why I am now. I'm second-guessing myself. It's probably just nerves. I agreed to do it because it's for some very nice people. I also agreed because they told me I could do whatever I wanted and they even said I could do it in my own kitchen.

So now I'm preparing.

I've never attended a cooking class so I don't have any examples to follow. These attendees, I think, are in for a surprise. I don't intend to demonstrate. In the description of the class I told them this was going to be "hands on." I'm going to help THEM make desserts. I'm not just going to do it and let them see how I did it as they do on TV cooking shows. These people will be given aprons, tools and ingredients and then I'm going to let them at it. Along the way I'm going to guide them, give them hints and tell them why I do things the way I do, but I'm not going to do it for them. I believe in hands-on learning--and laughing while you learn.

The class description also talks about how we'll be making pretty desserts--desserts fancy enough for all the upcoming holidays. And they will all be made of chocolate. At the end of the day, they get to take home their results. My hope is that when they do, they will actually be proud to show their accomplishments to their family and then eat the desserts . . . and smile.

Wish me luck.

Back to preparing.

I went into my library of chocolate dessert recipes and discovered one was missing. Funny, it's one of the easiest chocolate desserts I've ever made. It's one I make when I have absolutely no time. I made it the other day when I was putting on a dinner party and I realized AFTER I had gotten to the grocery store that I had no dessert on my menu! When I was in Aisle 2 I thought, "Wow, I'd better figure out what I can do for dessert and pick up the ingredients before I leave the store." And then it popped into my head--the chocolate dessert that only requires three ingredients!

I made it. We loved it. But then when I went to print it off as one of the candidates for my chocolate dessert class, I realized I had never written it down or posted it on the web site. How silly of me.

So now, here it is. The Chocolate Cookie Tart.

Believe me, you can make this much more complicated than the three ingredients. I've topped it with nuts or fruit. I've served it with crème anglaise or a fruit coulis. I've dusted it with powdered sugar. But you know what? This time I served it plain, and the simplicity really stood out as a great big YUM. It didn't need ice cream or whipped cream. It's just fabulous on its own. You decide. Plain and simple or doctor it up.

Enjoy!

The Chocolate Cookie Tart

1 tube of prepared chocolate chip cookie dough
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, diced (Ghirardelli is one brand.)
4 oz whipping cream

Take your tube of cookie dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes. You don't HAVE to do this but it makes the process easier if the dough isn't quite so cold. You'll need a 10-inch fluted tart pan or a springform pan. Slice the cookie dough open all the way across the top with a sharp knife so you can take out the whole roll of dough in one piece. Place it in the center of your tart pan. If you want to keep your hands clean, place a piece of plastic wrap about the size of the pan over the dough. Now start to squish the dough toward the outsides of the pan. You're flattening it out so it spreads across the whole bottom of the pan, making a crust. Pretend you're back in kindergarten playing with Play-Doh. Squish it to the edges and up the sides. You'll have just enough dough to make a rim. Remove the plastic wrap and make your final squishes, checking to see if you have the dough pretty evenly squished so it's not too thin in any parts and there are no holes.

Bake the cookie dough according to the directions on the package: 350 degrees for about 12 minutes should do it. You basically want a lightly golden, giant cookie.

Remove the pan from the oven and get out a regular teaspoon. Gently run the back of that teaspoon around the inner rim of the dough along the bottom of the pan, just lightly squishing the dough down so the tart rim becomes a little better defined. Then let your cookie start to cool.

While the cookie is baking or cooling, you can start your filling. You are making a French ganache--a very simple version. Chop the chocolate finely; the size of small dice is fine. Put this chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl. Heat your cream in a small saucepan just to the boiling point. This isn't much cream, so keep an eye on it. When it starts to bubble around the edges, you are getting very close. You don't want it to boil over, but you want the cream to be very hot. Pour the cream over your chocolate and immediately take a whisk and stir. The hot cream is intended to melt the chocolate. Keep stirring until all of the chocolate is melted and you have a glossy, smooth mixture. If your cream cools too quickly or your chocolate chunks are too large, they won't all melt. If this happens you can put the bowl in your microwave and heat on Medium High for about 15 seconds. Don't do it very long or you'll burn your chocolate. Try not to use the microwave at all unless absolutely necessary.

Even if your cookie is not completely cool yet, you can proceed. Pour your filling into the cookie crust. Spread it evenly across the bottom of the tart. It will only be about a quarter of an inch thick, maybe a little less. Don't worry. This is one rich dessert!

Now, you have two options. If you want your tart to stay bright and glossy, let it sit somewhere on the counter to "firm up." This will take 5 to 6 hours at room temperature. Keep it out of the sun. When you serve it, the texture will be creamy and wonderful.

Option two is to put your tart in the refrigerator. When you do this, the chocolate will firm up more like a candy bar but you'll be amazed at how rich the candy bar taste will be. The glossiness goes away with the cold, however. Another advantage to the colder version is, if you are serving this on a buffet, when the tart is cold, you can slice it into really narrow slices and they will hold together perfectly. This allows you to have little narrow pieces that people can pick up and just pop into their mouths.

Anytime you have it stored in your refrigerator, you can always take it out ahead of time (a couple of hours) and let it soften up. Be sure to store the leftovers in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. It will last for several days in the refrigerator and you can just keep nibbling at it.

Try it plain the first time and then you judge whether you want to doctor it up. With just three ingredients, you'll have a beautiful dessert that qualifies for the most fancy of dinner parties. Check out the picture on my web site at http://www.dinnerwithzola.com/recipe.php?recipeId=00000229 (once page is loaded, scroll to the bottom). You'll see what I mean.

Zola