Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Never Enough Chocolate!

Can you believe it, I finally baked something this week! Thanks to the "June Gloom" that finally arrived, these cool mornings are perfect for entering into my A/C deficient kitchen. That's OK, I found out that my neighbors with A/C must suffer with their outrageously high Edison bills. Well, I deserve to be rewarded for my energy conservation and my sweaty forehead. Bring forth the baked desserts!

This chocolate delight is adapted from the new Pampered Chef booklet, Fall/Winter 2006 Season's Best Recipe Collection. Although there are quite a few steps, it is still fairly simple. Such a decadent sweet, it has a rich chocolate toffee flavor, and will make an excellent treat for the holidays coming up soon. Is there ever enough chocolate? Neh-vah!

CHOCOLATE PECAN LATTICE TART - adapted from Pampered Chef

1/3 cups chopped semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 package refrigerated pie crusts, not the frozen one in a pie tin
Ice cream, optional
Additional pecan halves and chocolate for garnish, optional


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate on high 20-40 seconds, stir, then nuke again for an additional 20-30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Add the pecans, brown sugar, egg, corn syrup, vanilla, whisk and set aside.

Place one unrolled pie crust in the center of a lightly floured pizza pan or baking stone, set aside. Unroll the second crust onto a cutting board and gently fold in half, do not crease. To make the lattice strips cut into strips about a half-inch wide using a crinkle edged cutter, if available.

Spoon the chocolate mixture onto the center of the crust on the pizza pan, gently spreading it out to a circle, but avoiding the edge. Carefully twist the lattice strips and place over the filling, placing the longest strips in the center. Twist the remaining strips and place across, forming a lattice pattern. Fold the edge of the crust over the strips and pinch to seal. Add pecan halves between the lattice strips, if desired.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly, then cut into wedges. Serve slightly warm with a scoop of ice cream if desired, Ben & Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch is my personal fave, and drizzle melted chocolate on top.
Serves 12 or more, this is a very rich dessert!

3 comments:

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

Ice cream should not be optional for this. Can't wait to try it.

Anonymous said...

we think you are crazy, but thanks for posting the great recipe that we were looking for!

Anonymous said...

I received a little brochure with my pampered chef order teasing me with a pic of this awesome looking desert. How cruel. I thought I'd take a chance and do a search for it and, Wah-La!!! Thank you so much for posting it! I can't wiat to try it!