Friday, February 25, 2011

sinfully delicious: ganache goodness

tomorrow we're celebrating my mom's birthday.  (her actual birthday was yesterday.)  and i'm in charge of making the birthday "cake".  my mom loves chocolate, so each year i try a new decadently chocolate delight...always in search of the ultimate chocolate indulgence.

real simple inspiration
this year, i was inspired by a "real simple" recipe for a hazelnut ganache tart with sea salt.  but you know me, i can never just follow a recipe...  so i modified it a bit to better suit my mom's chocolate preferences : )

instead of hazelnuts, a medley of almonds and pecans.  instead of a chocolate cookie crust, an orange butter wafer crust instead.  (my mom's favorite is dark chocolate with orange.)

the recipe...that i changed...
ganache goodness...my way : )

1/2 cup almonds + 1/4 cup pecans (3/4 cup total)
1 1/2 cups crushed orange wafer cookies (approximately 30 wafers)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
12 oz semisweet chocolate morsels
1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

ingredients
1.heat oven to 350° F. spread the nuts on a large rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven, tossing occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes.

roasted almonds & pecans
2.in a food processor, finely grind ½ cup of the nut mixture. add the crushed cookies and butter and pulse until moistened. press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan.

3.place crust on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry, 10 to 12 minutes (if the crust puffs up during baking, gently press it down with the back of a spoon). let cool in the pan on a wire rack.

ganache - step one

ganache - step two
4.meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the cream just to a boil. remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate until smooth. pour into the cooled tart shell. refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

waterfall of delight
5.chop the remaining ¼ cup nuts and sprinkle on the tart.

the final result
6.sprinkle with the salt just before serving. for the easiest slicing, use a thin, sharp knife, wiping it clean and running it under hot water between slices.

for the original recipe from "real simple" click {here}

mmm...mmm...good
are you feeling creative?  i think a pretzel & peanut crust would be delicious and then top the ganache filling with chopped roasted peanuts or maybe even add a peanut butter swirl in the ganache.  or maybe a vanilla sugar cookie crust and then top each slice with homemade whipped cream and berries... yummy!

i am sooo looking forward to finally trying my creation tomorrow night.  i have a feeling it's going to be divine.  how can you go wrong with chocolate?



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16 comments:

  1. those look DELICIOUS!!! You will definitely need to let us know how they taste!

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  2. That looks delicious! And I totally grabbed the badge, so swank! :)

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  3. You are killing me here! I'm a chocoholic and that ganache is calling my name. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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  4. OMGosh I think I just gained 3 pounds just looking at that delisciousness. My mouth is watering!!

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  5. oh its a good thing I can't reach thru this screen! Wow.

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  6. Whoa, yum! That looks amaaaaaaaazing. I'm totally craving something chocolately now.

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  7. looks divine! Happy birthday to your mama!

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  8. Looks amazing! I loved roasted nuts, they complete any chocolate dessert!

    Thanks for the comments and being a follower on my site! I love your content, so I'm following you too! :)

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  9. I bet your Mum will be thrilled with the results! It looks like a delicious creation. Happy Birthday to her.

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  10. This looks delicious! What a wonderful birthday cake for your Mom. :) Thanks for visiting my blog, I'm following you now too!

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  11. oh. my. cholocolatey. goodness...thank you for this decadent recipe...and thanks for linking up to fridays unfolded!

    alison
    stuff and nonsense

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  12. It's beautiful! And I love that you made those substitutions which made it so personalized and delish! I'm sure your mom loved it!

    xo Mary Jo

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  13. These look great. I love that you changed the recipe to suit you! I will have to try these soon!

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  14. Happy Birthday to your mom, sweetie. That cake looks amazing! happy Monday
    Muah

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  15. That looks amazing!! :) I adore dark chocolate, it's gorgeous! Well done on making it yourself! x

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  16. Pretzel and Peanut crust?? You are a GENIUS!

    xox
    Lexi @ http://glitterandpearls.com

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hello there. thank you for your comments - i love reading them.

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