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Thursday 15 November 2007

A little Tart and another Anniversary

What do you do when you realize that you have never ever celebrated the anniversaries of your own relationship? After all, this is about being with the One And Only, right? There should be something to celebrate, right? Well, I am growing older, ahem, and I tend to forget a little bit here and there. Haven't I said that before..;-) Luckily, my boyfriend is no different in that respect. Not that he keeps forgetting things (big difference between us as he likes to point out) but when it comes to anniversaries he's just your average bloke who doesn't care much about these things. However, when approaching our - gasp - fourth anniversary, I decided that things finally had to take a turn for the better.

So off we went to Sydney's Observatory Hill that overlooks the harbour including Harbour Bridge, lots of boats, lots of lights, and other things necessary for some romantic atmosphere. After eating our way through crispy chicken pieces, Greek salad, foccacia, brie cheese, and hummous, there was almost no room left for dessert. However, who could say no to a creamy coffee chocolate ganache in an almond hazelnut crust? We certainly didn't!

To make the pastry cases I only had to defrost some leftover shortcrust pastry. For the filling, I had been keen for a while to try these tempting little tarts. However, after fully baking my tart shells, I didn't dare baking them again with the filling inside. I figured that halving the dairy components and not using any eggs might give me a creamy consistency that's still sufficiently stiff. With just a little cream and milk, I only used a quarter of the original amount of coffee. This way, the coffee flavour was nice but already very subtle on the second day. Next time, I might go back to only halving the amount of coffee.

These Vietnamese coffee chocolate tarts made for a fabulous ending of our anniversary picnic and will always remind me not to ever forget it again...

PS: I didn't want to prove this particular point any more but I have to add something I ... forgot ...: This tart is my entry for WTSIM#11 "Waiter, there's something in my...topless tart!" hosted by Cooksister!

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, one can't remember everything, but associating with something else makes it easier. A chocolate tart is a perfect way to remember an anniversary. :-)

Very nice picture.

Katy said...

Yay! Maybe I'll make these for my anniversary next year... which I will not forget... hopefully...

Seriously, though, they look AMAZING. Totally intimidating, but they look like they're worth the effort!

Nora B. said...

Hi Eva,
Sounds like a fabulous way to celebrate. I hope that T was surprised by the whole evening. Did you manage to see the stars? And how was the cab sav from Margan?

Your tart looks gorgeous! What nut is that on the top?

Anh said...

The tarts look amazing, Eva! Congratulation for the anniversary!

Eva said...

Thanks Christina! A few years back, I would have never thought that I'd ever forget these things..;-)

Katy - You should definitely try them, they're not at all hard to make! Next time, I'll try the original version.

Nora - I was so fretting about the overcast sky ruining our tour through the observatory that I called them (and Tobi came back to our place so it wasn't really a surprise anymore...) Anyway, the sky cleared up in time and we both liked it a lot! Although I was already a bit tipsy from the CabSav which was good!

The nuts are almonds that I dropped into caramel and then made little heaps of it on oiled baking paper.

Thanks a lot, Anh! These tarts are so rich but oh so good!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Happy anniversary! A great way to celebrate this day...

Those tarts look beautiful and ever so perfect! Scrumptious!

Cheers,

Rosa

Eva said...

Thank you very much, Rosa! If you have some pre-baked tart shells, these tarts are really quick to make. And they don't require any fiddly work to look good!

Katie said...

They look delicious and the perfect way to end a meal.

the baker said...

eva, those tarts look fab, and vietnamese coffee at that! amazing! i'm a huge fan of vietnamese coffee. which is a good brand? my sis is going to vietnam on a school trip and is wondering which brand to get?

Anonymous said...

Wow now THAT'S what I call a tart! What a great way to celebrate :)

Eva said...

Thanks Katie, I gave one away and my boyfriend almost didn't want to part with it..;-)

Ooh, confession time... Dear baker, now I have to admit that I simply used the coffee I had at hand. But I'm sure that Anh from "A Food Lover's Journey" (have a look at my linklist) could give you recommendations. She's from Vietnam!

Thank you, Y! I rarely indulge in chocolate but these are definitely worth it!

Anonymous said...

Eva, every time I look at your blog, I am always amazed by how good the food and the photographs look. -alex

Eva said...

Thank you, Alex! I really appreciate that!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Congratulations on the anniversary, dear Eva!
And these tarts are the perfect way to celebrate anything!

Anonymous said...

Eva,

What is the saying about women cooking and men's stomachs?

I am sure this was a hit with T.!

Happy Belated Anniversary!
xx

Eva said...

Thanks Patricia! Too bad that one can't have such indulgent things all the time...

Em, you would not believe it but he doesn't like to admit this universally known fact! Anyway, he enjoyed these tarts a lot!

Cate said...

The tarts look so gloriously silky!

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Ooh, I was hoping you weren't gonna say you skipped dessert. It sounds too fabulous to skip for any reason. One of the first dates my husband and I went on was to an observatory. There is something impossibly romantic about star gazing, isn't there?

desie said...

these look stunning. sounds delish.

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

What delicious looking tartlets! Beautiful photo, as is the vietnamese coffee chocolate tarts.
Ronell.