Chocolate Truffle Tart with Whipped Vanilla Mascarpone Topping

By DenaK

Ingredients

• 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 oz. (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 1 Press-In Cookie Crust baked and cooled (I like graham cracker for this  tart)
• (or chocolate wafer cookie crust)
• 1/2 lb. mascarpone cheese, at  room temperature
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from finecooking.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the filling:

Melt together the chocolate, milk, and butter in a medium bowl in a microwave or in a double boiler over medium heat (see

). Add the vanilla and salt. Whisk the mixture until well blended and smooth. Set aside, whisking occasionally, until room temperature and slightly thickened, about 1 hour. (For faster cooling, refrigerate the filling until thickened to a pudding consistency, about 30  minutes, whisking and scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula every 5 minutes.)

With a rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into the crust and spread evenly, taking care not to disturb the edge of the crust. Let cool completely, cover, and refrigerate until the filling is set, about 4 hours and up to 8  hours before proceeding with the recipe.

Make the topping:

In a medium bowl, combine the mascarpone, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed until almost smooth, 30  to 60  seconds. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the mixture is thick and holds firm peaks, another 30 to 60  seconds. Don’t overbeat.

This recipe is excellent, but not quite as written. The topping, as written, comes out rocky rather than smooth and pillowy. I found that it required either more cream, or less mascarpone than indicated and a bit more sugar. Mix the sugar together with the other ingredients, whip the cream separately, and fold together. It comes out beautifully.

This was amazingly easy and very rich. I used 1/2 bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 milk chocolate as I like a bit of a sweeter chocolate. Also on the whipped topping I added a 1/2 Tbs more sugar because I need more cavities. It came out amazing and so easy! I used a bought graham cracker crust, it could have been a regular pie crust both would be fine. My whipped topping came out great not sure why others had a problem. Going to make this again soon because I accidentally bought too much mascarpone ! It was very very rich and quite good. Reminded me of a french silk pie.

This was amazingly easy and very rich. I used 1/2 bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 milk chocolate as I like a bit of a sweeter chocolate. Also on the whipped topping I added a 1/2 Tbs more sugar because I need more cavities. It came out amazing and so easy! I used a bought graham cracker crust, it could have been a regular pie crust both would be fine. My whipped topping came out great not sure why others had a problem. Going to make this again soon because I accidentally bought too much mascarpone ! It was very very rich and quite good. Reminded me of a french silk pie.

This tasted excellent even though I completely failed to create a smooth mascarpone topping; my topping was curdled in appearance. After reading a "cooking gone wrong" website, I believe that the mascarpone was not quite at room temperature. I also think the "fat" that was added, in this case the whipping cream, should have also been at room temperature. My whipping cream came straight from the fridge and was very cold. However, the dessert was still a big hit!

This is a show stopper and it is easy to make. Everytime I've served it, everyone loved it. I can't always get the Nabisco chocolate wafers so sometimes I have to make it with a graham cracker crust and it is still good but with the chocolate wafers it is outstanding. Use the best chocolate you can find. This recipe deserves it.