In Which I Make The Chocolate Truffle Tart

   Last night, once I got a glass of wine with ginger ale in me, I screwed up my courage and headed into the kitchen with the intention on making the truffle tart.

   I started with the crust, laying it into my Corningware pie plate. It has straight sides, so I thought it would make a good tart pan. I followed the directions, laid it in there, and poked it with a fork, then baked it at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. It looked pretty good when I took it out.

   Then I started heating up the cream on the stove in a little sauce pan. I emptied the chips into a bowl, and added about a half tablespoon of vanilla. In retrospect, I think it should have been more. Note to self for next time! When the cream was hot, I put it into the bowl, and let it sit for a little while to start melting the chocolate.

   I got my whisk, and set to work. It still had some chocolate chip chunks in it, so I stuck it in the microwave for 20 seconds. That seemed to take care of it, and it was nice and smooth after a little more whisking. I had also put into the bowl 1 cup of smooth peanut butter. I found a recipe that called for it, and Hubs and I both thought it sounded good, so in it went.

   Now I just had to wait for both crust and ganache to cool. Once they finally did, I poured the ganache into the tart shell. I was concerned, because it was still very liquid, even though it had cooled to room temperature. But I trusted that it would solidify in the fridge, so I covered it with plastic wrap, and popped it in.

  
   This morning, as we had our coffee, Hubs and I tried a small slice of the tart. It was hard to slice, being cold and right out of the fridge, but it was delicious! We decided to leave it out, and try another slice later. We still haven't had more, we just haven't gotten to it yet.

   I bought enough cream to make whipped cream, but I haven't attempted it yet. I am not sure how much sugar to put in it. But I'm sure I will overcome this hesitation, as I love whipped cream. I went back to the supermarket today, and bought even more cream, and a Wilton Cupcake Decorating Kit. It has 4 tips in it, and 10 or 12 bags, so I have some practicing to do!

  Hopefully I won't make a complete mess out of it. But I will take some photos so I can share with the class. I even thought about adding some cocoa powder to the whipped cream, to make it chocolatey, but Hubs said he'd rather have it plain. So plain it is, at least for now. If this venture is successful, there will be no stopping me!! WOOT!