For the Love of Dog: Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart: The Pie That's Not a Pie

This year for Thanksgiving I was feeling super ambitious and decided to try out a whole bunch of new recipes, including a curried pumpkin soup (recipe to follow in the next post). And although I have a well documented obsession with all things pumpkin (see here and here), I thought that pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie all in one meal might be overkill, even for me.

But this left me wondering what I should make to finish off the big meal. A different type of pie? Cake? Cookies? I asked Paul what he thought I should make and he said, "How about a pie that's not a pie?". When I responded with, "A pie that's not a pie? What does that even mean?", he just shrugged, so I knew that in order to solve this mystery I would have to go straight to the source:

This fantastic cookbook is a 690 page bible of dessert awesomeness, including a 35 page intro section that defines every ingredient and piece of cooking equipment you may ever need to use, and a section that walks you through the proper way to follow a recipe. In other words, there is absolutely no dessert problem that this book cannot solve. And as I flipped through the book I came across the answer to the question: a tart is kind of like a pie that's not quite a pie. I tried my own spin on one of the recipes I found in the book and I've shared it with you below. Give it a try! I promise that it's much easier to make than it looks, but your guests will be fooled into thinking that you went to pastry school and spent hours slaving away in the kitchen (or at least that's what I like to tell myself).

Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart with White Chocolate Swirls and Pecan Walnut Graham Cracker Crust (Adapted from Bon Appetit Desserts)

Pecan Walnut Graham Cracker Crust:

9 graham crackers, broken
1/4 cup pecans
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
pinch of salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Dark Chocolate Ganache Filling:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp half and half
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 of an 11 oz. bag of dark chocolate chips
1 Tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract

White Chocolate Swirls

1/4 of an 11 oz bag of white chocolate chips

Preparing the crust:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 9" tart pan with removable bottom with non-stick spray:

Break 9 graham crackers (the entire graham cracker sheet as pictured below, not 9 individual crackers) and place in a food processor:

Add pecans, walnuts, and brown sugar and pulse to mix completely:

Transfer cracker, nut, and sugar mixture to a large mixing bowl. Microwave butter for about 30 seconds on high to melt. Add melted butter and vanilla extract to cracker mixture and mix to incorporate:

Pour mixture into tart pan:

Press the mixture down with your fingers to evenly distribute crust in the pan (don't be discouraged if the crust seems thick - it's supposed to be that way):

Bake crust for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely at room temperature before adding the filling.

Preparing the filling:

Bring heavy whipping cream, half and half, dark brown sugar, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat (keep an eye on the pan and stir periodically so that the mixture does not burn):

Remove mixture from heat and add dark chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli, but you can use any brand of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips that have 61% cacao or less). Whisk until chocolate chips have melted and the mixture looks smooth:

Add brandy and vanilla extract to the mixture and whisk to incorporate. Pour filling into crust (the filling is so glossy that you can see the reflection of my espresso machine in it).

Preparing the white chocolate swirls:

Place white chocolate chips in small heavy saucepan on the lowest heat setting possible. Stir constantly until chips melt:

Transfer melted white chocolate to a small ziploc bag (I did this because I don't own a pastry bag, but I'm sure that if you do, that would work just as well). Twist the bag just above the chocolate:

Snip off the tip of the bag (be sure to do this near the tart because the chocolate is going to want to start flowing almost immediately). Pipe white chocolate in 1 continuous spiral starting at the center of the tart and working your way towards the edges (to make it look really professional you'll probably want to space the lines at an equal distance. I can't even write my name in a straight line, so I ended up with an unevenly spaced spiral that was a bit of a lopsided mess):

Take a sharp knife and run it through the filling, starting at the center of the tart. Move a few inches over and run the knife through the tart again, this time starting at the outer edge. Continue alternating until you've worked your way around the entire tart: