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There will be chocolate
By Ann | January 24, 2008
Welcome to part tres of Moro: the dinner party, starring a luscious chocolate and apricot tart (photo above). I do not love making desserts, but this was the most satisfying and successful recipe of all that I attempted from the book. The chocolate contrasted beautifully with the slightly tart, fruity apricots.
Of course, I made a few modifications. The book calls for a bizarre pastry method — you make a pate sucree in the normal manner, and then chill it (still normal), and then grate the pastry on a coarse grater, pressing the bits evenly into the edges and base of your tart pan. Sounds overly complicated to me — is this some Spanish/Moorish/Arabic method of pastry making??? Call me crazy, but I opted for a rolling pin and plastic wrap.
The recipe also calls for amradeen or apricot leather, a “Lebanese and Syrian specialty… traditionally used in ice-creams or as an Arab sweet for children.” I skipped straight to the alternative, dried apricots simmered in a bit of water and lemon juice, then pureed. You spread this paste onto the bottom of your pre-cooked tart shell, then pour in the chocolate filling (melted chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar), then bake for 25 minutes or so, et voila! The result is truly delicious, the apricots a perfect counterpoint to the rich chocolatey-ness.
Topics: Cooking the Books |
January 24th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
It’s also an attractive pie. When you cut a slice, there’s a pleasing apricot stripe between the chocolate and the crust. This one almost made me rethink my rankings of 1) cookies, 2) pie, 3) cake and 4) ice cream.