Featured Blogger + Dark Chocolate Strawberry Tart

I'm very excited to announce that today Miss Make is the featured blog over at Salsa Pie. Salsa Pie is a wonderful blog run by the very creative Caroline. I've been dying to try her Skillet Pineapple Upside Down Cake [a cast iron skillet is pretty high up on my wish list] and her Retro Chocolate Crock Pot Cake. Can you tell that I like dessert? Caroline also posts a lot of adorable crafts that are simple and fun, especially if you have small kids to entertain.

For anyone who's visiting for the first time, I started this blog when I was lucky enough to work at an awesomely modern craft studio in Santa Monica called The Urban Craft Center. I was learning so much and looking for a way to share it, so here we are. I mostly post about my sewing endeavors [I love to quilt] and baking [did I mention my love for dessert?] but you never know when another random project is going to pop into the mix [like a knitted microphone, for instance.].

Since I've been posting a lot about sewing lately, minus those deep fried pickles, I thought I'd share a recipe. This Dark Chocolate Strawberry Tart has a decadent secret hidden under those luscious berries - a layer of rich dark chocolate.


This isn't a make-it-right-before-the-party kind of dessert, because there's a good amount of waiting between all the steps. But that doesn't mean it's hard. In fact, it looks much more elegant than it is difficult to make. And when you combine strawberries with dark chocolate, really, how can you go wrong?

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Tart

Ingredients
For the crust:
1.5 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
[that's one sleeve of 9 crackers]
1/3 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup dark chocolate chips
[I used Ghirardelli's 60% chips]

For the filling:
2 lbs strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
juice of 1/2 a lemon

whipped cream for serving

1. Thoroughly stir together graham crackers, sugar, and butter. Press mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9" tart pan or a pie plate. Bake at 375 F for 7 minutes. Remove and let cool.

2. Put chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate is smooth and melted. Pour chocolate into crust and spread around evenly. Use the back of a spoon to 'paint' chocolate up the sides of the crust. Chill until chocolate is set, about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, wash and stem the strawberries. Mash enough of them to make 1 cup of pulp. In a saucepan, combine pulp, water, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Continue cooking an additional 2 minutes until sauce becomes translucent and thickens. Remove from heat and cool.

4. Reserve about 10 strawberries to slice for top design. Cut the rest into small and medium sized chunks. When glaze is cool, combine it with strawberry chunks in a bowl. Carefully spoon filling into crust, making top as flat as possible.

5. Very thinly slice reserved strawberries lengthwise. Arrange slices on top of tart as shown, starting from the outside and working to the center. Cover tart with foil and chill overnight in refrigerator.

6. Slice tart and serve with fresh whipped cream.