Chocolate Almond Tart with Blackberries —and Memories of a Gathering of Women
It is said that the sense of smell is the most evocative of all senses, and this chocolate almond tart with blackberries made me think of it, not only because of the current aroma in my kitchen (I wish food blogs could be not only visual but carry the fragance of the dishes to their readers!), but because of what it evokes.
I can still remember the smell of a basket handle at my parents house, which for reasons unknown to me, smelled like a boy I had a crush on when I was 14. The aroma of violets remind me of my grandma Maravillas and my grandpa Chimo, who both loved the flowers and grew them in their garden. Jasmine is another aroma that reminds me of my grandma Maravillas. Every late afternoon in the summertime, when the sun fell and the temperatures dropped enough that allowed us to be outdoors again, we would help her pluck hundreds of the flowers, one by one, and place them in small bowls. We would then sit down around the porch table, where she would thread needles for each of us grandchildren, and we would make necklaces or small brooches, threading through the delicate stems of the flowers. The fragance of jasmine carried us through to bed: at nighttime, we’d bring our “jewels” to our night table, where they would protect us from the stings of the night mosquitoes. It was the most delicious, ecological, insecticide.
I could mention many more smells that bring me back to my childhood or to other special times. But if there’s a smell that brings me back to a very sweet period of my life, it is that of Tuesday afternoons. El Café de los Martes, Tuesday’s Coffee Time, was my mom’s get-together with her friends. From around 3 PM until school dismissal at 5:30 PM, they would meet for their weekly coffee and chat, rotating houses. On my mom’s days to host, we entered the house after school to the wonderful, comforting, smell of baked goods, coffee, and cigarette smoking. Yes, it was those times —very chatty, stylish women holding their cigarettes and sipping coffee amidst lively conversation and laughs. Our arrival home after school would mark the end of the women’s time, but the aroma lingered in the house for hours after they left.
What happy memories, of times that ended for me when I moved to college. I long for those times now, of school days when my main worries were studies and exams, friendships and crushes, gymnastics and piano; these days a weekly time for a gathering of more than three friends is an exercise in planning and almost a balancing act. The different culture must be a main factor too. Lunch in Spain, as I mentioned in my previous post, is a time to sit down together for a long meal, the main one of the day. In America, it is a break to fuel and keep working. The end of the workday in America is earlier, with an earlier dinner. The end of the workday in Spain is much later, eight or even 9 PM, with a later dinner. Not better, not worse, just different.
The recipe I’m sharing today, chocolate almond tart with blackberries, reminded me of El Café de los Martes, that almost institution of my youth. The women in my mom’s group made delicious coffee pastries, many of them almond based, as is common in Spain, and as always, not overly sweet, as is also common. I added chocolate to mine, both in the crust as in the filling, just because. The crust, almost a pâte brisée, and the smooth, almond filling, burst with the flavor and the juiciness of the whole blackberries, making for a wonderful bite. I’d have a slice with coffee right now —without the cigarette 😉
CHOCOLATE ALMOND TART WITH BLACKBERRIES
Tarta de Chocolate y Almendra con Moras
Makes one 13 1/2” x 4” rectangular tart pan
Ingredients:
For the chocolate crust
5 Tbs butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch-processed or unsweetened cocoa powder
For the almond chocolate and blackberries filling
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup almond flour or ground almonds
4 oz dark chocolate or dark chocolate pearls (I use Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet pearls)
1 pint blackberries
1 Tbs icing sugar
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Make the crust
Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the egg and beat until it is fully incorporated, stopping the machine if necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Slowly, and while continuing beating, add the flour and cocoa mixture a little at a time, until the dough starts to come together into a ball. Remove the dough from the bowl and gently form into a 1-inch thick disk (I formed it into a 1 inch-thick “log”, since I was using a rectangular tart pan). Wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at leat 30 minutes.
Remove the wrap and flatten the dough a bit, using a rolling pin if necessary. Transfer to the tart pan and finish fitting the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan using your fingers and the heel of your palm (you can also use a small rolling pin or even the bottom of a small glass). Make sure the bottom is as flat as possible. Prick the base all over with a fork. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes (this prevents the dough from shrinking during baking).
Preheat the oven the 375ºF.
Line the frozen dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove the weights and the parchment paper and bake for about 5 minutes longer.
Remove the tart from the oven and let cool completely before filling, 1 to 2 hours.
Make the filling
Melt the chocolate pearls by placing them in a heat proof bowl set over a small saucepan with simmering water.
Make the almond chocolate cream: in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy, then add the sugar. Continue beating until smooth, then add the egg and combine until well incorporated. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and the almond flour, and continue to beat until well mixed. Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the chocolate, gently stiring with a spatula.
Lower the oven temperature to 325ºF.
Pour the almond chocolate cream in the tart and spread it evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and distribute the blackberries randomly across the tart. Bake for about 10 minutes longer or until almost set (it will finish setting outside of the oven). Remove the tart from the oven and let it cool on a rack. Mix the icing sugar and the cocoa and, when ready to serve, dust the tart with this mixture.
