Brownie Tart

I made this tart as part of my Thanksgiving dinner. I was making a sweet potato pecan pie, but knew I wanted another dessert in case someone didn’t want the sweet potato pie. It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate and this bakes relatively quickly. This was a big plus on Thanksgiving Day when the oven was in great demand.

This is really just a big brownie baked in a tart pan with a removable bottom. Put anything in a tart pan and it looks fancy! It has a wonderful chocolate taste, very rich, all with just using chocolate chips. No fancy chocolate, just what I already had in my cupboard. The original recipe called for walnuts, but I used pecans because I like pecans a lot more. It also called for a chocolate drizzle, which I omitted. Honestly, this was so chocolately that I don’t think it really needed any more. Hard to believe, but true! I think you could top this with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (4 ounces) chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch tart pan with removable sides.

Melt the butter in a bowl set over simmering water. Add 2 cups of the chocolate chips, remove from the heat, and stir until the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool completely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, coffee, and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cooled chocolate.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and the pecans. Fold the flour mixture into the batter until just combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is puffed (the top may crack). The inside will still be very soft. Cool to room temperature before removing the sides of the tart pan. Cool completely after removing the sides of the pan.

Recipe from Ina Garten, http://www.foodnetwork.com