The Adventures Of Mousse And Girl
They were a shadow organization on the fringes of my consciousness. I’d be reading about a magnificent pastry, something unbelievably professional looking, only to come to terms with the realization that it was created by a mere mortal, a foodblogger like myself. But not just any food blogger.
A Daring Baker.
After noticing the logo on one blog, I started seeing them everywhere. As if coordinated by invisible means, posts would appear every month across the blogosphere, chronicling different approaches to the same recipe. Who were these people? I saw the result of a group cooking event but couldn’t find the announcement anywhere. Where were they getting their recipes? How did they organize, communicate, mastermind? I began looking for muted post horns.
Finally, I stumbled across the Daring Bakers blogroll, which outlines their mission statement. It also reveals that to join, all I had to do was email the founders, Lis and Ivonne. I confess, I was a little disappointed. I thought I’d have to find a payphone, wait until it rang at exactly ten thirty-nine to receive further instructions, and eventually end up getting the back of my knee branded as part of my indoctrination. This way turned out to be a lot less painful though, and I was able to join just in time for August’s challenge!
This month’s challenge, hosted by Veron and Patricia, is the milk chocolate and caramel tart from Eric Kayser’s Sweet and Savory Tarts. Chocolate hazelnut shortbread holds a layer of caramel topped with chocolate mousse and decorated with caramel shards.
This was the first pastry I’ve made that involves creaming the butter and mixing the flour in well. As you might guess, unlike a flaky, light pie crust, the shortbread has a dense, crumbly, almost sandy texture. Using my hands, I pressed it into a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. I had read that the pastry tended to rise a lot in the oven, so I pricked my shell thoroughly and weighted it with sunflower seeds. It held its shape well and stayed fairly flat, although the scraps I cut out and baked alongside did as well. I was a bit underwhelmed by the pastry on its own. The cinnamon overtones with which other bakers took issue didn’t bother me, but it wasn’t very chocolatey either. It didn’t actually taste like much of anything, and I was skeptical.
The next step was making the caramel. I’ve had trouble with caramel in the past, so I was delighted when an alternative to the “dry method” was given. Veron’s suggestion of adding water and a bit of corn syrup to the sugar, stirring it before it came to a boil, and letting it cook until golden worked like a charm. I was nervous about adding the cream, but even that went smoothly. I chose to use crème fraîche, which I recommend because of the subtle tang it gave the caramel. It melted away into the caramel, which stiffened before dissolving again. After stirring in the egg and flour mixture, I poured it into my shell and baked away. Twenty five minutes later, the caramel set enough to keep from sloshing around when I pulled it out of the oven.
Apparently the fates had saved the misery for the third component, the chocolate mousse. This mousse was structured as melted milk chocolate folded into unsweetened whipped cream. It sounded simple enough, so I set my Kitchenaid to beating my cream as I melted my chocolate in the microwave. I’ve done that enough times that I didn’t think anything of it, but I made the mistake of melting all eight ounces together. My chocolate overheated and clumped into grainy clusters of evil.
I immediately ran to the interweb and acted on its advice. I switched bowls, mixed in my unmelted chocolate to cool it, and painstakingly pushed it through a strainer. Much time later, I melted it down again, slowly and carefully, and stirred in a bit of goose fat* to smooth it out. It looked like chocolate again, and I eagerly whipped it into my cream, only to see it deflate. Demoralized, I pouted and gave up.
Lucky for me, Drew didn’t. I vented to him, telling him I’d just start again in the morning and that he eat the chocolate cream if he so desired, but he put it in the refrigerator instead. When it was thoroughly chilled, we watched with childlike glee as it fluffed up into a glorious mountain of chocolate mousse. I spread it over my tart with my shiny new offset spatula and studded it with caramel pieces, which were a snap after that ordeal.
When the moment of truth came, it surprised me. I had expected it to be overly sweet, but the mildness of the crust and the tanginess of the caramel tempered the sugar rush. The chocolate and caramel married so well that they were nearly indistinguishable from each other, the gooey smokiness of the caramel melting into the buttery lightness of the mousse. The caramel fragments, which were just annoying to cut around in the beginning, eventually dissolved until thin enough for a pleasant crunch in the forkful of tart. Each slice was rich enough to satisfy the sweet tooth, but light and addictive enough that said sweet tooth demanded more.
*A couple people have expressed curiosity about my use of goose fat. The usual recommendation is shortening, but I was out and have found that the goose fat I still have in the fridge from two Christmases ago has a similar consistency and makes a good substitution.
Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart
Chocolate Shortbread Pastry
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/4 cup hazelnuts, ground
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
Caramel
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Chocolate Mousse
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
8 ounces milk chocolate
Caramel Fragments
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1. In a mixing bowl of a stand mixer, cream 1/2 cup butter. Mix in the powdered sugar, ground hazelnuts, and cinnamon.
2. Mix in 1 egg. Sift in the cake flour, the baking powder, and the cocoa powder, and mix well.
3. Measure out 1/2 pound of dough, reserving the rest for another use. Form into a ball, cover in plastic wrap, and chill overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 325 °F. Press the chocolate shortbread pastry into a tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake blind for 15 minutes.
5. In a saucepan, heat 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1 tablespoon corn syrup over medium-high heat, stirring slowly. Stop stirring when the mixture comes to a boil, and wait until it turns a golden caramel color. Incorporate the heavy cream or crème fraiche and then remaining butter. Mix thoroughly and set aside to cool.
6. In a separate bowl, beat the remaining eggs with the egg yolk. Incorporate all-purpose flour. Pour into the cream-caramel mixture and mix thoroughly.
7. Spread caramel out in the tart shell and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
8. Beat the whipping cream until stiff. Melt the milk chocolate and fold it gently into the whipped cream. If the whipped cream deflates, chill mixture thoroughly and rewhip.
9. Pour the chocolate mousse over the cooled caramel mixture, smoothing it with a spatula. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.
10. Caramelize remaining sugar and corn syrup in the same manner as described above. Pour it onto waxed paper or a silpat on a flat surface. Leave to cool. Break it into small fragments and stick them lightly into the top of the tart.
Welcome to the Daring Bakers… you’ve passed the initiation round with *flying* colors. Gorgeous tart!
What a great pattern using the fragments…cool idea.
Your mousse layer looks gorgeously thick and delicious. Well done.
Oh, that looks great! Very nice!
It is a professionally done piece of work. I wish I can taste it.
Well done and welcome! The tart looks really nice especially with the caramel pieces stuck in! And that thick layer of mousse….just lovely.. I wish I still had some left!
That looks great. I love the way you have decorated the top with caramel so well. It looks very artistic.
Oh I love the way you have decorated your tart! Very creative indeed.
I also agree with you that this tart tastes wonderful, ot overly sweet as I expected.
It looks wonderful, especially the top mousse layer - so thick and fluffy! Well done!
What a lovely sight to behold. Your tart is just perfect! Impressive
Welcome to the club! That mousse layer looks amazingly high just gorgeous. Well done on your first challenge.
I love the way the caramel looks like stained glass on the top of the tart! Gorgeous
The tart looks gorgeous…welcome to the group.
What a beautiful tart, Aoife! I’m so happy you conquered your first challenge! Way to go! =)
xoxo
Perfect! Well worth having to walk down a secret corridor with steel doors clanging shut just behind me in order to reach a public telephone booth so that I could dial the code number and fall through the floor onto a chair with a portion of tart awaiting me on a small plate.
What a beautiful way to complete your first DAring Baker challenge, Aoife! Indeed such a gorgeous tart, and I’m happy you liked it.
I love your whole opening. Excellent writing! And yes,yes,yes to pressing the shortbread. I, too, had issues with the mousse, but all ended up well. The placement of the topping pieces is really classy…Nice Job!
Congratulations on getting into the secret society!
Your introduction made me want to join, and I am anything but a daring baker (I really do not bake if I can help it). Yummy! Agreed with whomever commented that the caramel looks stained glass.
Also, I get confused often, for a while I thought you were a state or two away from me, and then I thought you were in NYC, and now I’m back to thinking you’re in the other state. Hmm. Ah well. If you feel like popping down for a visit and want to grab Shake Shack, I’ll gladly stand on line with you
Congratulations on completing your first challenge. It’s a beautiful tart!!
It’s so wonderful to hear you didn’t give up and tried again - the result is beautiful!
Congrats on your first challenge. You did an amazing job! I have to correct you though: I am not a grandmother but a god mother( I am 32
)
Congratulations on your first challenge! I love the pattern!
What a beautiful tart! And I love your post as well!
Glad you have joined the Daring Bakers even if we don’t have a secret handshake
Your tart is just gorgeous. I like the random pattern of the caramel decorations. It’s funny, but the mousse tripped up alot of us…I guess we thought we had it made after that caramel process. Beautiful post and photos, too.
Well done, the tart slice looks fantastic!
I love your fantastic description of our secret club! I think using creme fraiche was a smart move. The tanginess definitely cuts some of the sweetness.
Welcome to the DBs. I felt just like that when I first stumbled across them as well. I kept clicking on the logos thinking that they might magically lead me somewhere at some key appointed hour. I read way too much Harry Potter.
I loved your post and I think you did a great job on your tart.
What a lovely tart…its a beauty! And the post was fun to read as well. The Daring Bakers always amaze me with their formidable baking talents!
Congratulations on your first challenge. It looks great!
Gorgeous tart, welcome to the DBs!
Your tart is gorgeous! The mosaic on top is killer. Fantastic job! xo
Well, I’m not sure, maybe you just don’t remember, the process you had to go through. Hee hee. Welcome to the DBs!
Oh yes please let’s do the secret handshake and the phone booth thing! So much more fun than plain email! lol
Welcome to DB and yes, you’ve done it! Great looking tart!
your decorations look like a mosaic! beautiful!
What a beautiful tart! Lovin’ the perfectly formed mousse and the artistically placed caramel shards - you bake like a pro! Congrats on your first challenge and becoming an official member of the DB!
Your tart looks great. I just love the fluted edge - so pretty. I am wondering what goose fat is? I am glad you were able to save your chocolate. I have had unfortunate microwave and chocolate experiences in the past. I stick to the bain marie especially with expensive chocolate. I liked the tart, too. It is deceptively “light.” Wendy
The purple cow moos at midnight with a green hat!
Oh, sorry, wrong group and last month’s password! hehehe
Great job with your initial challenge! Your tart looks lovely.
What a perfect tart for your first DB challenge! Welcome to the Daring Bakers and well done.
You’ll discover it’s not the joining which is hard, it’s the monthly challenges that might be painful
Wow! Your mousse really does look delightful! I’m a little weirded out by the idea of goosefat, but it sure did give a lovely result. I love the caramel mosaic on top too - very pretty!
What a really great lead in Aoife! I’m so very glad you found your way into our secret club!
Your tart is terrific! I like the cinnamon also!
I’m glad you perservered with the mousse, your tart looks delicious! Welcome to the Daring Bakers
Your tart looks delish! Great job on your first challenge!
I love your introduction. Your tart is brilliant.
Wow - fabulous first challenge. Great job!
Congrats on a great challenge, and welcome to the Daring Bakers!
Welcome to the secret club!! So glad you joined us for this month’s challenge. What a lovely first challenge you have made!! Congrats!!!