Did you get your chocolate quota for the year?

Get this! According to the HuffingtonPost the average American eats 9.5lbs of chocolate in a single year.


I don't know about you but I sure didn't get close to that amount, at least this is what I am saying to myself and believing it. So, since we are coming close to the end of this year I am going to do my best to catch up to my compatriots. And so I went on a search and in the process I found the most amazing place for all-thing-chocolate: http://www.cacao-barry.com/fr-FR .







 

Honestly, I cannot take my eyes away from these photos. Straddling the line between art and food, I wonder if presented with one of those delectable treasures I would ever be able to bring myself to the task of destroying it by consumption. But then again it is that nagging 9.5 lbs goal ahead ....

Ghana origin milk couverture chocolate

powdered chocolate

dark-colored milk couverture chocolate

Cacao Barry® is the organizer and host of the World Chocolate Masters competition for confection artisans from all over the globe and in essence helps create the superstars of the chocolate world. The premise of the competition is to challenge the chefs to make artistic pieces around a specific theme in an allotted time.

After virtual feasting on those amazing creations I settled on this Tanzanie & Cola Chocolate Tart as the thing for me:
 






Here is the recipe:

Tart Base 

 ingredients:

	150 g 82% butter 1.5 g sea salt 95 g icing sugar 30 g almond flour 200 g A.P. flour 50 g egg(s) 40 g Extra Brute  preparation: 1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor
2. Chill dough overnight. 3. Roll to 2.5 mm thickness. 4. Form 5 cm diameter tart rings. 5. Freeze. 6. Bake at 320°F/160°C around 15 minutes. 7. Allow to cool and set aside.

Vanilla and cola caramel

ingredients: 2 g salt 20 g invert sugar 95 g glucose syrup DE 60 160 g 35% cream 24 g 82% butter 100 g Mycryo Cocoa Butter cola extract

preparation: 1. Cook the sugar and dextrose to caramel
2. Deglaze with salt, invert sugar, glucose and cream 3. Continue to cook to 235°F/113°C 4. Remove from heat
5. Add butter, Mycryo™ and cola extract
6. Mix well with immersion blender. 7. Cool to 86°F/30°C. 8. Pipe into tartlet shells (approx. 75 g). 9. Let set at room temperature.

Tanzanie Dark Chocolate Ganache

ingredients: 260 g 35% cream 17 g invert sugar 30 g 82% butter 150 g Tanzanie preparation: 1. Warm the cream, invert sugar and butter to 140°F/60°C
2. Pour over melted chocolate 104°F/40°C
3. Create an emulsion with immersion blender. 4. Cast in a tart shell on top of the caramel. 5. Let set.

Chocolate Hazelnut Streusel

ingredients: 100 g 82% butter 100 g raw sugar 85 g A.P. flour 14 g Extra Brute 80 g hazelnut flour 2 g cinnamon powder 2 g baking powder preparation: 1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor 2. Bake at 320°F/160°C for about 15 minutes

Final Assembly

Pipe the cola caramel into the tart shell.
Let set.
Cast the Tanzanie ganache in the tart shell and let set.
Sprinkle pieces of baked chocolate hazelnut streusel.
Decorate as desired.

Now, I will never be able to produce anything close to the beauty portrayed in the photo. That is a certainty! But, I figured, with all that goodness going in-- it is going to be amazing tasting even if I have to pour it into a glass or scraped it from the baking pan ...

Will update ...

Baking for the Holidays? by fl4u featuring Ballard Designs

XOXO, Mimi

credits: all photos are from www.cacao-barry.com/