Monday, August 13, 2007

Mondays with Maida - Fudge Délices

Fudge Délices
Page 242 in the old book / page 264 in the new book

These little chocolate tarts were delicious and should have been relatively simple to make. I made an unfortunate decision a few weeks back when I ordered the little tartlet pans - I only bought 12. The recipe makes 23 (more on that later) and I really should have purchased two dozen of the pans.

Another problem I had was that a goof I made while preparing the filling caused the chocolate to seize. Even as I was adding the milk, butter and vanilla to the melted chocolate I was thinking, "this is interesting, seems like these liquids would make the chocolate seize." Well, I was right about that but I was remembering the instructions incorrectly - I should have been adding the sugar at the same time. Instead, I added it after the chocolate seized. It seemed to recover fairly well, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the root of my later troubles - while baking, the butter bubbled up in the filling leaving the surface sort of pock-marked. The tartlet you see above is one of very few that weren't scarred in that way.

I also think that my tartlets were over-filled. Maida was emphatic that 23 was number to make to ensure that the filling was the proper thickness, but nearly all mine lacked a clean edge of pastry because the filling rose up over it. My pans were slightly bigger than those called for (2 3/8" rather than 2 1/4") but I used a 2 3/4" cookie cutter for the pastry as specified in the recipe. There was plenty of pastry leftover, so next time I'd make 24.

After all my difficulties, I assumed the cookies were going to be a disaster and was resigned to making a second batch. But after sampling one, I decided to go ahead and bring in my flawed but tasty cookies. Top Chef I am not :)

Here's the panel...

Suzanne: "Delicious! The inside of the tart cookie shell tastes like a chocolate fudge brownie with a pecan on top. They were also very attractive. The rating is definitely at 5 and if I could I’d rate then even higher. Rating - 5.0

Denny: "Excellent 5.0. Only problem was there weren't enough of them. Not too crunchy or sweet, just right. Did not look as great as they were! Rating - 5.0"

Laura: "Nice flaky tart shell with moist and delicious brownie-like filling. Rating - 4.5"

Terri: "These cookies are outstanding and a must for chocolate lovers! I really liked the crust or shell in which the fudge was held. Almost like a mini fudge pie. Rating - 5.0"

Overall rating by the panel - 4.9

Next week - Chocolate Meringue Ladyfingers

Nutrition Facts

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! I hope you had a nice trip.

These sound delicious. And I just want to add: I cannot tell you how many times your detailed comments about a recipe have helped me when I've baked Maida's stuff. Thanks for being so thorough.

Amy said...

wow those are some impressive ratings! definitely tagging this one in my copy of the book.

I would vote for you for Top Chef.

Nupur said...

Cathy, those look like baby pies...soooo adorable! After all you difficulties, they scored 4.9! Yay!
The countdown to the end has begun, eh? :) This has been such a great project...

Cathy said...

Hi Ann! Thanks - it was a fantastic trip! These were very good - definitely worth making. I'm so happy to hear that my notes have been helpful to you - thank you!

Hi Amy! You know that cookie panel - give 'em fudgy chocolate and they get all 5.0! Aw thanks, you're sweet to say that, but if I'd served Tom Colicchio one of these, I'm sure I'd have been chastised!

Hi Nupur! That's exactly what they are - itty, bitty, baby pies! That's definitely part of their charm. Oh yes, I am so counting down!! I'm one ahead on the baking, so only 12 more to bake - yay!!!!!

TasteTV said...

Looks really, really good!