TWD: chocolate cream tart (not so much tart and a lot more parfait)

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe was the chocolate cream tart. When I first saw the word chocolate I groaned. I'm in chocolate overload with the last couple TWD selections. But, since I've never made a tart before I had to give it a shot. I could always pawn it off on others if I didn't like it. Never having made a tart meant no tart pan in my kitchen which meant me staring and drooling at all the pretty things in Williams-Sonoma. I bought a regular tart pan but also just had to have the little tartlet pans. They were just too cute. I decided I would make a half recipe and just use the tartlet pans. No problems with making the tart crust. I lovingly mashed the dough into my darling tartlet pans and shoved them in the freezer. When it was time to bake them I gracefully removed them from the freezer and bumped my arm on the door flinging the tartlets all over the kitchen floor. After screaming an obscenity (or two) I quickly picked them up (five second rule totally applies) off the floor. Fortunately no breakage.  They were super frozen. I buttered some foil and stuck it on each tartlet and then baked them. Having no idea how long I should bake the tartlets I wrongly assumed less time was necessary than the 9 inch tart. I took them out of the oven after 15 minutes to remove the foil.  The stupid foil, despite being buttered, had other ideas. It took giant chunks out of my tartlets. I shoved them back in the oven for another 5 minutes and decided they were done. Huge mistake. These puppies would not come out of the pan. I begged and pleaded and they just sat there and laughed at me. They even stuck out their chocolate tongues. I showed them. I ended up just crumbling them out and that is how (in a very long winded way) my little tartlets became my little parfaits.  

I had an abundance of strawberries this week so I sliced some and added them to my parfaits. My goodness, so yummy. I loved this dessert. I LOVED it. The chocolate cream was so creamy and delicious. I don't even love chocolate but this was just too good. With the chocolate crust, chocolate cream, strawberries and whipped cream I was in heaven. The husband and my dad both loved it too. There were no leftovers to give away, which is good because it is really hard to send a parfait to work with the husband.

I think this has been my favorite TWD recipe so far.  Granted I've only been baking along for five weeks now but this one outshines the others. We must all thank Kim of Scrumptious Photography for picking this most yummy treat.

For some non-baking fun, the husband and I took Willa on a hike this weekend to enjoy the nice spring day and some wildflowers. The husband got totally bored with all the landscape photos I was taking so he demanded some action shots. Not much action was happening up in the hills on Sunday so he decided he would create his own.  Here he is showing that white men can in fact jump as can little pups.  Look at the arm placement the husband has going, such great lines.  If he was a "star" he would totally rock it on Dancing with the Stars.

Here is Willa enjoying a relaxing dip in the grossest, muddiest, slime infested cow pond she could find. She likes to lie down in them to get the cool water on her belly. Not a great swimmer our Willa, but she is a champion wader and lier-downer in the water.

Check out all the other TWD bakers to see an actual tart.

Song I was singing along to this week:

Requiem for O.M.M. - Of Montreal