Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Tarts

I saw this recipe on the Food Network website: Truffle Tarts with Raspberries. The picture looked so deliciously tempting, but I wasn't thrilled with the idea of using Oreos or chocolate wafer cookies, due to the gluten and other ingredients I try to avoid in processed foods. So, I did a little experimenting, trying to come up with a healthier version. They came out pretty good, so I thought I'd share my results. I think this recipe could be improved. Maybe next time I'll try using walnuts instead of toasted pecans.

If you're lucky enough to have individual loose-bottom or springform tart pans, now is a great opportunity to use them. Otherwise, cut strips of parchment paper to line the cavities of a standard cupcake pan like this:

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Tarts

For the crust:

3 cups pecans (I toasted mine)

3/4 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 TBSP cocoa powder

1/2 cup frozen raspberries (more or less to taste)

Toast pecans on a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven if desired.

Pit and chop dates.

(Sorry, the photo of the chopped dates came out too blurry to use)

Process pecans, salt, and cocoa powder in food processor until mixed into a coarse powder. Add dates and vanilla and process until well mixed.

Evenly divide and press mixture into the cups of muffin pan. Now, the reason I use frozen raspberries is because they're easier to handle and you can crumble them into small pieces. Place about a teaspoon of crumbled frozen raspberries in the bottom of each tart shell. You can use more or less to suit your own taste, or try something else like toasted shredded coconut, or add nothing.

Chocolate Truffle filling:

1 cup coconut milk

16 oz good-quality bittersweet chocolate (go for the best you can find, at least 60%)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Melt chocolate using your method of choice (microwave, double boiler). Add coconut milk and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth then allow to cool to room temperature. Place in mixer bowl and beat at medium speed until it thickens and becomes light in color. It will go from this:

To this:

Handy tip: Place a food storage bag/plastic disposable piping bag inside a tumbler to fill it with the ganache.

Then cut off the tip and squeeze the filling into the tart shells, completely covering the raspberries.

Smooth the tops with a spatula, and then refrigerate for 2 hours. They will come out of the pan easily thanks to the parchment paper strips.

Here's a shot of the inside. Mmmm, raspberries.

Cakes I did for the State Fair

I forgot to take pictures of my non-decorated cakes before leaving the house this morning, and once at the Fairgrounds I really didn't have the time or space to take them out of their plastic domes. I also forgot my camera. I took these pictures with my cell phone, so apologies for the inferior photo quality.

Mmmmmm, chocolate... This is the same sour cream chocolate cake I previously raved about, only I finally found some dark dutch-process cocoa powder to use in it this time. It definitely makes it better! The layers are filled with ganache, and it's covered with sour cream chocolate icing. 

Pictured below is my white cake with mousseline buttercream icing and seedless raspberry jam filling. The cake has a bonus raspberry kick thanks to the addition of Chambord to the icing and the simple syrup used to keep the cake moist.

Determined to redeem myself for the forgot-to-add-vanilla-extract debacle that was my County Fair entry, I also made this buttermilk pound cake with hot buttermilk glaze and made  a point to remember the vanilla extract this time. :)

The theme for the decorated cake competition is "Election 2008." I had a hard time coming up with a creative idea for this one. I decided to go with the "Road to the White House" idea. My final cake doesn't really match my vision, but some elements I wanted to include either didn't work, didn't hold up, or didn't get done. For example, I really wanted to put red, white, and blue blankets on the elephant and donkey so they would look more like the political party mascots (and also to cover up a few flaws). I also had a bigger platform planned for the white house which would have added height and 2 more steps, but I broke it and didn't have time to make another one. Basically, I procrastinated for too long and ran out of time, as well as fondant.

Back view of the cake:

I wasn't 100% happy with my elephant. His ears don't look quite right, and one of the tusks broke and I had to use one of the spares I made which didn't match the other one in length or thickness. I also forgot to add the little tassel on the bottom of his tail.

I think the donkey turned out a little better, despite the fact that I forgot to finish his tail and I had to make his legs too thick in order to support the weight of his body and head. He also lacks a neck, and therefore a mane.

The white house is a color flow piece which I attached to a fondant-covered slab of styrofoam. I made made the sky with a combination of blue and super pearl lustre dust. I sprinkled clear cake sparkles on the fountain right after filling it in while the color flow icing was still wet. I went ahead and put my spare piece on the back of the cake even though the other side of the white house has a rounded front. This was again due to my time crunch and the fact that I couldn't find a coloring book page of that side of the white house the correct size or aspect. 

Here is a close-up of my sentry. It's adapted from a vintage Vargas pin-up. I thought it was appropriate to have a tenacious, dominate female clad in federalist garb guarding the road to the white house and blocking the path of the elephant and donkey.

More Fare Entries

In addition to my "Pick of the Crop" decorated cake, I'm entering 4 baked-from-scratch cakes in the County Fair (3 of them are recipes found in The Cake Bible). They're all boxed up and ready to go because I have to turn them in first thing tomorrow morning.
My "fruit-iced" entry is a Lemon Chiffon cake with raspberry and lemon glaze. The glaze for this cake turned out a bit too runny, but of course I didn't realize that until it was too late.

I'm also entering a chocolate cake with ganache filling and chocolate mousseline icing. I had some leftover ganache, so I used it to pipe roses and leaves on the top. I will most likely avoid piping roses with ganache from now on.

Below is my miscellaneous entry. It's a "Golden Luxury" cake with raspberry filling and white chocolate icing. I've been wanting to put raspberries and vines on a cake for a while now. I nicked the idea from The Wilton School Decorating Cakes book, page 69.

I forgot to add vanilla to my sour cream pound cake, so it will probably be bland. To try and compensate, I topped it with a sour cream and powdered sugar glaze. The shells around the bottom are to hide where some of the edge came out a little uneven.