Chocolate Raspberry Tart

I had a fantastic visit and tasting at St. George’s Distillery in Alameda. Their delicious Raspberry Liquor was the impetus for my Pi Day entry at IL Fiorello. So I wanted to share it with all of you.

The day started well , with all four of us well fortified with a great lunch by Scolari’s At The Point. A great eatery situated right on San Francisco bay, with lovely views of the city scape of San Francisco. We had a lovely time, and the gar-lic fries hit the spot. Mark and I, Chef Glo and Marlon, her wonderful husband, sat in the sunshine and relaxed. A real treat for the four of us together. We then trooped over to St. Georges Distillery.

We were greeted at the door, like old friends, and directed to the bar. Our hostess did a very good job discussing the products, the uses of their products and the flavor profiles. Well done! As someone who is very critical of presentations I would go back tomorrow. I would really recommend the tasting and the tour, which Chef Glo has done but we did not have time for on this visit.

The Raspberry Liquor was the inspiration to take a great recipe from www.finecooking.com, adapt it to my way of baking, and then push it over the top with the liquor. I hope you enjoy this as much as our staff did at the IL Fiorello Pi Day extravaganza.

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil for the pan
• 40– 50 gingersnaps (1 1/2 cups finely ground)
• 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 4 cups fresh raspberries
• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used half and half because I did not want to go to the store again)
• Pinch of salt
• St. George’s raspberry liquor (5 tablespoons in all)
  • 2 tablespoons for the crust
  • 2 tablespoons for the ganache
  • 1 tablespoon for the puree berries

Method:

• Heat the oven to 325 ° F with a rack in the middle of the oven.
• Oil the sides and bottom of a 9 1/2 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
• Grind the gingersnaps until very fine (use a food processor for best results).
• Melt the butter and add it to the crushed gingersnaps, along with 2 tbsp of the raspberry liquor and combine well.
• Press the ginger snap mixture into the sides and bottom of the oiled tart pan.
• Set the pan on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to chill and firm up.
• Bake the tart crust on the baking sheet until fragrant about 15 minutes, cool completely.
• Meanwhile, pass 1 cup of the berries through a food mill fitted with a fine disk or force them through a fine sieve, mashing with a wooden spoon and transfer into a medium bowl (you should have about 1/2 cup of the puree).
• Discard the seeds and add 1 tbsp of the liquor to the berries. Set aside.
• To make the ganache: heat the cream until just boiling, the pour over the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Wisk to blend, then add 2 tbsp of the raspberry liquor, the raspberry puree and the salt and stir to combine.
• To assemble the tart: pour the chocolate mixture into the cooled tart shell and refrigerate until the ganache is fairly firm, about one hour 3. Arrange the remaining raspberries on the top

Liberally adapted from www.finecooking.com with great thanks and respect.