We spent New Years Eve playing the Nintendo Wii with friends at our house and let me just say, we need a Wii. I don’t want to buy a billion games or waste hours playing anything new, but on nights when Handsome and I both have no clue what to do, the Wii would be a perfect solution. Ping pong an bowling, here I come. We were so involved in 100 pin bowling we didn’t even notice that the clock struck midnight and we missed the ball drop (giggle).
It even comes in red now. Doesn’t that seem perfect for me?
So, why can’t we have one? Because Handsome is a sore winner. He could beat a kid at tic-tac-toe and still want to run a victory lap around the block announcing his achievement to the world. Yeah, that kind of sore winner. And its a little cold out this time of year for victory laps, so there goes that dream.
Oh well, on to the dessert.
Chocolate Pecan Tart
Adapted from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky Seen on Tastespotting Blog
Chocolate Tart Pastry
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of very cold butter cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup of pastry flour
- ¾ cups of icing sugar
- 2/3 cup of cocoa
- ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
- ¼ cup of water
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Using a food processor, combine the butter, flour, pastry flour, cocoa, icing sugar, and salt and pulse until the texture resembles coarse sand. Add the water and mix until the mixture just comes together. Do not overprocess.
Using your fingers, press the dough into a 10 x 1¼ inch flan pan with a removable bottom. Chill for 30 minutes. Line the pie with parchment paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes or until just firm. Remove from the oven and discard the parchment paper and baking beans.
Chocolate Pecan Tart Filling
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup of granulated sugar
- ¾ cup of brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
- 2/3 cup of corn syrup
- 2/3 cup of whipping cream
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup of brandy
- ¼ cup of butter, melted
- 1 ½ cup of pecan halves
Preparation:
Reduce the oven to 350F.
Using your KitchenAid Stand Mixer fitted with flat beater attachment, beat the eggs, both the sugars, salt and syrup until just combined but not frothy. Stir in the whipping cream, vanilla, brandy, melted butter (making sure it has cooled). Fold in the pecans. Pour into the prepared pre-baked crust and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the filling is set and slightly puffed in the center. Cool completely before topping.
Chocolate Topping
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of whipping cream
- 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate
- 1 tablespoon of corn syrup
Preparation:
Coarsely chop the chocolate and place in a heat-proof bowl. Place a small saucepan on medium heat and cook until the cream just comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat, and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for a couple minutes and stir until the both the cream and chocolate form a homogeneous mixture. Add the corn syrup and stir again.
Using a teaspoon, dot the topping of the cooled pie and swirl decoratively.
Serve Chocolate Pecan tart at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Store refrigerated for up to 5 days.
My name is Kita. I am a 20 something girl geek and website/graphic designer who can rock an apron like there is no tomorrow. 
So, I guess age doesn’t change sportsmanship? I use to hate playing games with him when he was a kid! The dessert looks wonderful, I have never tried to make a tart.
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We love our Wii! If it’s not bowling or tennis, it’s Super Mario!
Just Dance is also a good one to get into with others!
The tart is beautiful …YUM!
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This looks delcious! I sorta want a wii myself, but then I think we’d use it a ton at first, but then get bored and it would be a waste of money. For now, we’ll use our friends’!
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You were thinking of me when you made this, right? I love chocolate and pecans and this tart looks fantastic!!!
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I’ve only played the Wii once at a friend’s house but it certainly is addictive! It’s a good thing I don’t have one because I wouldn’t get anything done. This tart looks incredible!
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That tart looks amazing! Too funny about Wii-ing through the ball drop! *giggle* Better than sleeping through it! You deserve a victory lap for this desert for sure!
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My brother is the same exact way–sore loser–and I never want to play any games with him either, even if it’s just scrabble on facebook. And I like the use of chocolate pastry–I find a lot of pastry shells to be boring and bland.
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Both the Wii and the tart sound super addictive.
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These look fabulous. An excellent treat to bring in the new year with.
I so want a Wii but the hubby resists….I don’t know how he does it. Soon I shall figure out how to weaken his resolve.
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beautiful as always
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it is really really look awesome tart.. no wonder it’s on Top 9 ! ^_^
can I have some?? ^_^
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Wowzers!! This is awesome…I want to make this so bad (but I am dieting) I will save this for later!! Congrats on making Foodbuzz Top 9…well deserved!!
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Trade you a Wii for this tart? Ok, just kidding but I just think this tart is to die for! Chocolate and pecans make such a good team! You did excellent with this!
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I love chocoalte pecan anything and this tart looks great! (I want a wii too but don’t have enough room in my apt to play it.)
(I DO have old school nintendo, so almost cooler!)
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