TWD: Tarte Noire

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned. It has been a week since my last confession.

For this week’s TWD recipe, the tres chic Tarte Noire, I confess that I did not make the ganache filling the recipe called for. Instead, I used some ganache I had left over from these Honey Truffles.

The honey ganache was quite sweet, so I did everything I could think of to add interest and layers of flavor. I stirred in just a few shakes of cinnamon and cayenne to deepen the taste. I lined the bottom of the tart shells with caramelized salted pistachios. I topped the tarts with a hefty pinch of quality sea salt, and finished them with a billowing spoonful of lightly sweetened vanilla cream.

These may not have been true to the Tarte Noire recipe, but they were still heavenly. At room temperature, the shell was crisp and buttery, the nuts crunchy, and the ganache silky smooth and melting in the mouth.

On second thought, don’t forgive me, because I regret nothing. Nothing! I would do it all again in a heartbeat, only next time the chocolate will be even darker, the spices stronger, the portions larger. And there might be raspberries on the side. Amen.