Rocky Road Tart

Chocolate was the ingredient of choice this month for a cooking club a friend of mine started. My original plan was to make a bittersweet chocolate tart with a graham cracker crust so that it'd almost be like eating smores. Imagine my surprise when I found this recipe instead. I was skeptical of how it would look at the end (since professional pictures always look so .. perfect, and my stuff is always so .. less perfect). Nonetheless, I was quite pleased with it. Granted, I haven't cut into it yet -- I'm leaving that for people at work.

My only alterations to the recipe were that I baked it in a 8-inch springform (my set jumps from 8 to 10 inches), and that I overfilled with the ganache, despite the instructions advising to not go over the crust. I think it's not so bad, and almost gives it a cheesecake look with the extra chocolate. I also omitted the egg yolks, (1) for cholesterol, and (2) icky uncooked eggs!

Rocky Road Tart

From Martha Stewart Living

FOR THE CRUST
6 ounces graham crackers (about 11)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE GANACHE AND FILLING
15 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup salted almonds with skins, lightly toasted

FOR THE TOPPING
3/4 cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup salted almonds with skins, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process graham crackers, sugar, and salt in a food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl, and stir in melted butter. Mix until combined.

Pour mixture into a 9-inch cake ring or springform pan set on a parchmentlined baking sheet.

Press crumbs with your hand or the bottom of a glass to form an even layer on bottom and up sides of pan. Bake until crust just starts to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack.

Make ganache: Melt 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; keep warm. Meanwhile, bring cream just to a simmer in a medium saucepan over high heat; remove from heat. Whisk 1/4 cup hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture into the remaining cream in saucepan. Whisk cream mixture into the melted chocolate, and set the ganache aside.

Coarsely chop remaining 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, and transfer to a large bowl. Toss in 2 cups mini marshmallows and 1 cup whole toasted almonds. Scatter mixture all over bottom of cooled crust. Reserve 1 cup ganache for topping, and pour the rest evenly on top of the filling (do not overfill the crust). Refrigerate tart, uncovered, until firm, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, cover reserved ganache with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature.

Make topping: Toss together 3/4 cup mini marshmallows, 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds, and 2 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate; sprinkle over filling. Drizzle reserved 1 cup ganache over tart, and refrigerate 10 minutes more before cutting into slices. Tart can be refrigerated, covered, up to three days.