Double Chocolate, Ancho Chile, and Almond Tart

Crust:

8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teas. cinnamon
1/4 teas. ancho chili powder*
1/8 teas. salt
1/2 teas. pure vanilla extract
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Almonds:
1 cup slivered almonds
2 teas. sugar
1 teas. cinnamon

Filling:
1 ancho chili*
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 T Amaretto

Directions:

1) To prepare crust, beat butter, sugar, cinnamon, chile powder, and salt with electric mixer until creamy.  Add vanilla and cocoa and beat until the mixure forms a smooth paste.  Add flour and mix just until incorporated.  Turn the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and press into and 8-inch disk.  Wrap dough and chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

2) Roll dough out between pieces of plastic wrap into an 11-inch circle.  Peel of top layer of plastic and invert carefully into bottom of 9 inch springform pan.  Press pastry into the sides of the pan and remove second layer of plastic wrap.  Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3) Pre-heat oven to 375 F.  Prick bottom of pastry shell with fork and bake until dry, about 12-15 minutes.  Cool.

4) To prepare almonds, put almonds on baking sheet and toast in preheated oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Toss with cinnamon and sugar while still warm.  Set aside.

5) To prepare filling, put the ancho chili in a small bowl, cover with very hot water and let steep until soft, about 30 minutes.  Remove from water, discard seeds and stem, puree chile in blender with 1 T of the water the chile soaked in.  Blend until smooth.

6) In small saucepan bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Lower temperature to simmer and add chocolate pieces - stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and add in ancho chile puree and Amaretto.

7)  To assemble, spread almonds on the bottom of the cooked tart shell.  Pour the chocolate mixture over the almonds and spread to form a smooth layer.  Refrigerate until chilled and set, about 3 to 5 hours.  About 30 minutes before serving remove tart from refrigerator, transfer to serving plate and cover the tart with a stenciled design or doily and sprinkle with cocoa powder.

*A quick note about the ancho chile.  Ancho's are the dried version of poblano peppers; as I had none of these on hand I substituted ground chipotle pepper (which you can find in the spice aisle at your local grocery store) and cayenne pepper for a kick.  If you opt for this variation I recommend taste testing to the desired spice level.

Parley

I think it is safe to say this was Audrey's first tart and she was an admirable sous chef!  She helped me stir, stir, stir and dump, dump, dump and counted out each and every one of the almonds to be chop, chop, chopped!  There was one minor incident with the cocoa, or "ca-cow" as Audrey puts it and well, yeah, she put it everywhere but really what's a little "ca-cow" on the counter, floor, face, Aunt Denn (that's me) when we're having so much fun?

This tart is quite sumptuous and I love the spice profile from the, at least in this case, chipotle and cayenne peppers.  Sometime I'll have to attempt it with the ancho chile and see which I prefer...or better yet, since I'm posting this recipe at the behest of our fellow contributor, Mike, perhaps he can borrow Audrey for an afternoon of chocolatey fun and let us know how it turns out!

Finally, to give credit where credit is due, this recipe also comes out of Seasonal Southwest Cooking by Barbara Pool Fenzl.