Chocolat, Mon Amour

I get a lot of flack for my breakfast selections. But keep in mind, I grew up in a household where I was taught how to make brownies as soon as I turned eight years old, and a mixing bowl full of M&Ms was a quickly declared dinner if the electricity was out.

In other words, a very sensible household.


Is it any surprise then, that this chocolate tart, along with a cup of green tea, was how I started today?

It's another recipe from the September issue of Gourmet, which is all about eating Paris, one buttery croissant at a time. Instead of its chocolate crust, I made a regular graham-cracker version, which seems a better canvas for the intense chocolate filling and satiny glaze.

Of course, its photography makes mine look like a crass kindergarten crayon etching, but I was too busy eating the tart to take the picture of the three remaining slices until a few days later.

Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Tart
Makes: 8-10 servings.

Crust:
8 (5- by 2 1/4-inch) graham crackers, finely ground (about 1 cup)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
Filling:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 65% cacao), chopped
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Glaze:
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 3/4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon warm water

1. For crust, preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Stir together all ingredients and press evenly onto bottom and 3/4 inch up side of 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack 15 to 20 minutes.

2. For filling, bring 1 1/4 cups cream to a boil, then pour over chocolate in a bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Whisk together eggs, vanilla, and salt in another bowl, then stir into melted chocolate.

3. Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until filling is set about 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly, 20 to 22 minutes. (Center will continue to set as tart cools.) Cool completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour.

4. For glaze, bring 2 tablespoons cream to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in chocolate until smooth. Stir in corn syrup, then warm water.

5. Pour glaze onto tart, then tilt and rotate tart so glaze coats top evenly. Let stand until glaze is set, about 1 hour.

Note: Tart is best the day it is made but can be made, without glaze, 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before glazing.

Chocolate and green tea are a stellar combination, so I brewed up some Uji Mecha, which just may be the happiest medium between a Japanese and Chinese green tea, to complement with the rich tart. And it's cheap (around $3 an ounce, which works out to 30¢ a cup- and yes, I had to use a calculator for that), which was welcome after coughing up over $20 for all that Scharffen Berger chocolate.

It's like making a good cup of tea, however: With so few ingredients, you have to use the highest quality you can find to make it shine.