Tarte Tropézienne

While this tarte appears amazingly sophisticated, it is actually not all that hard to bake.  Just a tremendous exercise in patience, planning, and allowing plenty of time.  Maybe I had extra confidence in my ability to bake this because when Dorie Greenspan was on a book tour in September 2014 with Baking Chez Moi, I was lucky enough to see her in Seattle.  And this was one of the wonderful samples that we were able to taste!

Dorie speaking in Seattle

My sample Tarte Tropézienne with the book that Dorie later autographed.

I didn't take many pictures when I baked this time, but here is the beautiful brioche dough, the lovely--albeit not perfectly round-- cake out of the oven, and the finished product.  I loved using the pearl sugar which somehow made this look unusually special.

Interestingly, not long after I baked this I was in a fancy local bakery and saw tiny slivers of Tarte Tropézienne being sold for $4.50!  They looked good, but I found myself feeling quite satisfied that I had baked this lovely dessert myself.

To see what other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers had to say about this recipe, check out the Tuesdays with Dorie web page.

Betty's Chocoholic Cake

Who wouldn't want to bake (and eat!) a beautiful chocolate cake from Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking Chez Moi?  This cake has lots and lots of chocolate and lots and lots of butter.  It is therefore intensely chocolate-y . . . and much enjoyed by my guests.

Dorie suggests decorating the cake with white chocolate curls.  I am never completely pleased with the result of my chocolate curls.   I use a vegetable peeler that is sharp and I try to warm the chocolate a bit before attempting to cut the curls, but the result seems to resemble shavings rather than curls.  Any suggestions?

Melting butter and chocolate.

Beating the egg yolks.

I love the technique for making the ganache:  pour  boiled cream over chocolate, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently stir in concentric circles.  Baking is so much fun!

Beautiful ganache.

Working on spreading the ganache.

Cleaned up plate and white chocolate curls added.

Two of the folks at our dinner.  I managed to get a photo before the cake was entirely consumed!

For more examples of this lovely cake, check out the blogs of other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers.