Mmmmm Food!

Woo hoo finally a post by me! A little to introduce myself . . . I love food! I unlike Mrs. Amanda did not start cooking at such a young age, in fact I don't actually remember when I started. I remember being 5-6 and helping out with baking but other than that I don't remember truly cooking until I was into my teens. Since then I've been slowly (very slowly) adding to my cooking skills and even now I consider myself more of a baker than a cook. With that being said my guess is that I will be posting more sweets - they really are my love! However, I'm sure the occasional 'real meal' shall be posted by me. In fact, I am trying to promise myself to cook more often with the start of this blog!

And now . . . . the foods!

My mother's birthday was on Monday. Happy Birthday Mom! Anywho, she's not into the traditional cakes and brownies, etc. So . . . I let her choose what she wanted me to make. It just so happened that I had recieved a new magazine from the Cooking Club (vol. 14 #3 issue 76) and on the very last page was this wonderful tart! The following is the recipe for Black-Bottom Raspberry Tart from the Cooking Club with small changes that I made.

Black Bottom Raspberry Tart

Crust

1/3 C. Sliced Almonds

1 C. Graham Cracker Crumbs ( I used one sleeve out of a box)

2 Tbs. Sugar

1/4 C. Butter - melted1/2 tsp. Almond Extract

Chocolate filling (Ganache)

8 0z Semi-Sweet Chocolate ( I used Lindt 74% Cocoa)

1/2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream

1 1/2 Tbs. Raspberry liqueur ( I used Torani- Sugar Free)

Raspberry Filling

10 oz Frozen Raspberries- Sweetened

1 Tbs. Raspberry liqueur

1 1/2 tsp. Unflavored Gelatin

2 C. Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Tbs. Sugar

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Place almonds, graham crackers and sugar in food processor- pulse until finely ground. Add butter and extract- pulse to combine. Press in bottom and up sides of 10-in tart pan. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

**I baked for 8 then turned off the oven but left the crust while I finished the Ganache.

2. Heat all chocolate filling ingredients in small saucepan over very low heat until chocolate is melted. Be careful as it can easily burn! Stir until blended. Pour into crust. Tart can be made up to this point 1 day in advance.

2. Process thawed raspberries in food processor until pureed. Press through strainer into medium saucepan; discard seeds. Stir in raspberry liqueur. Sprinkle gelatin over raspberry mixture; let stand 2 minutes or until gelatin softens. Cook and stir over medium heat or until mixture is warm and gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool until mixture begins to jell slightly.

3. Beat 2 cups of cream and sugar in medium bowl on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold in cooled raspberry mixture until combined. Spread over chocolate and crust and refrigerate 2-12 hours. Store in refrigerator.

Notes for next time!

-Next time I would make about half of the ganache; it filled the ENTIRE crust- and being that

I'm a chocoholic and thought it was a bit much says something.

-I would also use a sweeter chocolate next time.

-And I'd add a little more sugar to the filling portion - But I will admit that I accidentally forgot

to buy sweetened frozen raspberries. GASP! So I found myself at Walgreens @ 12 am :)
They only had unsweetened Strawberries, so I bought them. I took them home, added about
3 Tbs of the raspberry liqueur and set them in the fridge overnight. So all in all they
probably weren't nearly as sweet as the pre-packaged frozen ones.

All in all, I would definitely make this again!