Bon Appetit Desserts (84 page)

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Tent with foil. Keep chilled.

Chocolate Tart with Candied Cranberries

Who says cranberries are only for making relish? Here, the tangy berries get tossed with sugar and baked until they’re sweet-tart and pretty enough to top a decadent chocolate tart.
10 servings

1⅔ cups unbleached all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces

2½ tablespoons (or more) ice water

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup heavy whipping cream

8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

3 tablespoons crème de cassis (black currant liqueur)

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1½ 12-ounce packages frozen cranberries (unthawed)

1 cup sugar

CRUST
: Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2½ tablespoons ice water, egg yolk, and vanilla. Blend until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by ½ tablespoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill at least 2 hours.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13- to 14-inch round. Transfer dough to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Cut dough overhang to ¾ inch; fold overhang in and press, forming sides that extend ¼ inch above top of pan. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze 15 minutes.

Bake crust 15 minutes. If sides of crust fall, press up with back of fork. Continue to bake crust until beginning to brown, about 15 minutes longer. Cool on rack.

FILLING
: Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in crème de cassis. Pour filling into crust. Chill until filling is firm, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

CANDIED CRANBERRIES
: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Toss cranberries and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Spread out mixture on baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Using metal spatula, stir berries gently. Bake until berries are thawed and most sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes longer. Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Spoon berries atop filling; drizzle with syrup from sheet. Chill 1 hour.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Chocolate Truffle Linzer Heart

In this take on a classic Linzertorte, a hazelnut-based crust is filled with chocolate-raspberry ganache. The finishing touch? A pre-baked top crust that’s decorated with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.
10 servings

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted

⅔ cup sugar

1¼ cups sifted unbleached all purpose flour (sifted, then measured)

1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 ounce Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, cut into small pieces, frozen

1 large egg, beaten to blend

½ ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 egg white, beaten to blend

⅓ cup seedless raspberry jam

9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam

1½-pint container raspberries

Lightly sweetened whipped cream

CRUST
: Position rack in lowest third of oven. Set baking sheet on rack and preheat to 375°F. Remove bottom from 10 ½x9 ½-inch heart-shaped tart pan with 1-inch-high sides and removable bottom. Place pan bottom on parchment paper and trace heart shape.

Finely chop nuts with sugar in processor. Add flour, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and ginger. Process just to blend. Add butter and cream cheese to processor. Process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg and chocolate. Using on/off turns, process until large moist clumps form.

To form top crust, transfer 1⅓ cups dough to pastry bag fitted with No. 4 (⅜ inch-diameter) plain tip. Chill remaining dough. Pipe 7 parallel diagonal lines about ¾ inch apart across heart outline on parchment. Pipe border around edge of heart inside traced line, touching ends of diagonal lines (some dough may be left over in pastry bag). Freeze 10 minutes. Brush dough with some egg white. Slide parchment with heart onto heated baking sheet and bake until crust is golden and edges are beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Run long thin spatula between crust and parchment to loosen crust. Slide parchment with heart-shaped crust onto rack and cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.

Return removable bottom to heart-shaped pan. Press remaining dough onto bottom and ¾ inch up sides of pan, using plastic wrap if necessary to prevent dough from sticking to hands. Freeze until dough is firm, about 10 minutes. Brush lightly with egg white. Set pan on heated baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and sides are beginning to pull away from pan, about 23 minutes. Spread bottom crust evenly with jam. Bake 3 more minutes. Cool crust completely on rack.

FILLING
: Stir chocolate, butter, and cream in heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat until chocolate and butter are melted and mixture is smooth. Mix in 2 tablespoons jam. Cool slightly. Pour filling evenly into bottom crust; smooth top. Chill until filling is firm, about 30 minutes.

Spread remaining ⅓ cup jam over filling and outer edge of bottom crust. Carefully place cooled heart-shaped top crust atop jam. Press gently to seal. Cover with foil and chill overnight.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Remove torte from pan. Transfer to platter. Let stand at room temperature 45 minutes. Arrange raspberries in row in first space between crust lines. Spoon whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with small star tip. Pipe row of small rosettes in second space between crust lines. Continue decorating torte, alternating rows of raspberries and whipped cream rosettes between crust lines.

Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Whipped Cream Tart

There are two advantages to using a resealable plastic bag snipped at one corner to pipe the whipped cream: You can simply throw it away when you’re done, and the bag’s seam leaves behind a decorative line in the piped cream, creating a professional-looking finish. The entire tart can be assembled well in advance, but wait until just before serving to garnish it with the crushed peppermint candies, so they’ll stay crunchy and their color won’t bleed into the cream.
8 to 10 servings

1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

⅓ cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ½ teaspoons chilled whole milk

1¼ cups heavy whipping cream

¼ cup light corn syrup

12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped

½ cup coarsely crushed red-and-white-striped hard peppermint candies

3½ cups chilled heavy whipping cream

¾ cup powdered sugar

1¾ teaspoons peppermint extract

1 tablespoon coarsely crushed red-and-white-striped hard peppermint candies

CRUST
: Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in processor. Add butter and vanilla; using on/off turns, cut in until butter forms pea-size pieces. Add milk; using on/off turns, blend in until mixture forms small moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap dough in plastic; chill 1 hour.

Roll out dough disk between sheets of floured parchment to 12-inch round. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of 10-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold dough edges over and press to form thick sides. Using thumb, press dough around sides to extend crust ⅛ inch above edge of pan. Freeze 20 minutes.