Aria Chocolate Tart

Monday, 2 Aug 10

Hands up if you’ve ever thought to yourself: “How hard could it be to be a chef?” Maybe it was while watching Masterchef as a contestant was struggling to plate up on time. “How hard can it be, just get it on the plate!!” We all have, I’m sure. And there are so many bloggers who make it look fantastically easy. Photography with a serve of killing and wit on the side? Piece of cake. Working the plate? He could do it in his sleep. Whipping up insane creations by the ‘Patissier of Pain” Adriano Zumbo without breaking a sweat? These ladies have done it. By no means am I trivialising the work of these fantastic bloggers (this is more akin to hero-worship). They’ve worked insanely hard to get to the level of skill they are at, and there’s a long way for me to go before I can get anywhere near them.

Instead, today I offer insight into the life of the less perfect.

Allow me to present Exhibit A. Note the aesthetically pleasant coils of the printer cable in the background, and the misshapen attempt at an icecream quenelle as impatient hungry guests heckled demanded requested more icecream to counter the uber richness of the tart.

To your right, you can also see the printer, as well as too low an aperture setting. (This is when you ooooh.)

And here, in Exhibit B, you can see arranged lovingly in the background a collection of multi-coloured shoe boxes and a slice of tart cut less neatly than the former. And ugly lighting that really should’ve been rectified in processing. (Aaaahhhh..)

He wails for no reason. order cialis Sudden surprises often come “out of the blue” – effects of cialis especially from within the organization. Men with ED get failure to achieve viagra 50 mg new.castillodeprincesas.com or gain erections hard enough for pleasing lovemaking activities with their hands and wrists. Pfizer was the first oral online cialis pill introduced in the market in the year 1998 and became the most common amongst the three drugs for erectile dysfunction.

Admittedly, despite the photography issues, I was quite pleased with the tart. It was relatively easy to make, once the trauma of coming home to a shattered Careme pastry shell had disappated (note to self: buy pastry weights and use enough baking paper to ensure rice grains do not contact tart shell and get stuck). I had been hesitant to make pastry from scratch, but with no other option, I sucked it up, and just did it. The pastry was a little too crumbly and dry, and probably not kneaded properly or rolled thin enough, but it wasn’t the end of the world, because it still tasted good.

*Chris has gained 21 xp points and can now use <ability> Tart Shell*

I was enamored  with the tart filling and chocolate glacage topping. Imagine chocolate so dark it teeters on the knife-edge of being too bitter, before being thrown a life rope by the glossy glacage, which reins in the bitterness with a little sweetness. They were surprisingly straightforward to make. From the dramatised pressure in Masterchef, I had imagined the tart component to be far more difficult, but I suppose without a massive clock in the kitchen and the judges telling me to get my tail into gear, I was cruising along ;)

Just in case you missed it last year, the recipe can be found here, along with a far more aesthetically presented plate. But I’m not a professional, not yet. I get stressed when guests heckle while I’m plating up 8 desserts, even when they haven’t actually finished their mains, I don’t know how to use my camera properly, especially under pressure or how to make a neat quenelle and I still have printers and shoe boxes in the background of my photographs. But I’ll just have to keep working harder to get there. And it’s the little challenges like these that make the journey (DRINK) all the more interesting.

Om nom nom. I still have filling and glacage in the fridge too, which I shall enjoy without taking photos and caring about aesthetics =D

10 Comments

1. BAHAHA journey! tequilla shots all around!

   Comment by chocolatesuze — August 3, 2010 @ 11:36 pm

2. Looks fantastic! I would probably prefer it as dark as possible!

   Comment by Maria — August 4, 2010 @ 4:36 am

3. interesting study of text and context going on right here

   *drinks*

   also, nice tart

   Comment by the ninja — August 4, 2010 @ 8:41 am

4. You really should be congratulated for even attempting this tart. It looks wonderful, especially in the last photo. And ooooh, love the depth of field and the glimpse of curly cable… aaahhhh…

   Comment by OohLookBel — August 4, 2010 @ 10:12 am

5. I’ve had that aria tart, but I reckon yours is better. Homemade is always better. And like you, I could never hope to live up to some other bloggers skills in the kitchen or with photography or words, so I’m just gonna keep on doing my own little thing, and watch cool peeps like you make delicious tarts!

   Comment by Reemski — August 4, 2010 @ 10:45 am

6. Love the RPG reference! Looks like you did great despite your comprehensive misgivings.

   Practice makes perfect :)

   Comment by Simon @ the heart of food — August 5, 2010 @ 5:00 pm

7. Haha, great story.
   My guests know to wait – or I end up giving them their dessert and taking pics of mine. Sometimes I make one beforehand to take photos of, or slice a piece before I take it to their (my families) place. I’ve tried to take photos with friends over though – that would be tough.
   Your plating is superb though, and the most important thing – your guests really loved it!

   Comment by Anita — August 5, 2010 @ 9:08 pm

8. this looks so nice :)

   Comment by betty — August 6, 2010 @ 11:11 am

9. Awww, you’ve done a fantastic job of the Aria Tart.! Should be super-proud of that delicious effort

   Comment by Emma @CakeMistress — August 6, 2010 @ 6:41 pm

10. you made me laugh, how i wish i really can cook in my sleep. Actually no, sleep walking freaks me out, let alone cook! Boy look at that tart, how i wish I have a slice right now and clog my heart away…

    Comment by billy@a table for two — August 9, 2010 @ 12:47 am

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

.