Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

I don’t know about ya’ll, but I dream about food experiments. Some may count sheep – I count sticks of butter and dark chocolate chips. (Perhaps it would be wiser for me to count calories? Hehehehehe!)

One night recently as I was falling asleep I started to think about dark chocolate covered strawberries (my favorite treat by the way – just in case you were wondering). Ideas started to form. I love my strawberry cream cheese pie. I love my dark chocolate truffle tart. What if I combined the two and created a new dessert? Hmmmm….

What I was imagining could easily be done in a springform pan but… I had my heart set on making this extra purdified. A tart pan would provide the perfect pretty edge but it wouldn’t be deep enough.

Well… I am fairly stubborn when it comes to a culinary idea (hahahaha) so I set out to find a deep dish tart pan. Not easy! I looked everywhere and ended up having to go online to order one. I was so happy when Mr. FedEx Dude showed up at my house on Saturday. Mr. FedEx Dude was happy too. It was Rib-O-Rama day and he said my house was the best smelling house on his route. He wanted to know what time I would be ringing the supper bell. (In my house, the supper bell is when Nick comes out of his mancave and says, “What’s for dinner? When do we eat? Can I eat a bagel or two while I wait for you, woman, to prepare your son’s ‘manly man’ sustenance?” I know you wish you lived in my house. Did I mention that he may come out of said mancave scratching his armpits?)

OK – now I have my special deep dish tart pan! (Can you hear the hallelujah choir?)

I was having lunch with my BFF Floyd this week so I created this recipe to test out on him. (In the south, we don’t go callin’ on friends without bringing something a little sweet. It just wouldn’t be right.)

Anyway, I think the recipe is a winner. I loved the taste combination and I love, love, love the way the finished tart looked. I did want to try one minor adjustment so I played with it last night and now I think it’s perfect. In the original version, the truffle layer was too dense when combined with the light, fluffy strawberry cream cheese layer. Last night I tried whipping the truffle ingredients to lighten up the texture. It worked beautifully and I got the texture I was hoping for. Ahhhh… a triumph. Whipping does add volume so you may end up with more filling than you need but… I don’t consider that a problem. Just spread it on vanilla wafers, graham crackers, angel food cake, your fingers, etc.

Here it is. And… um… I didn’t count the calories.

Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers or chocolate wafers
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick (half cup) unsalted butter, melted

Truffle Layer:

• 16 oz 60% chocolate (I use Ghiradelli) (you can also use semisweet chips)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Strawberry Cheesecake Layer:

• 2 cups strawberries, crushed
• 8 oz block cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• dash of nutmeg
• 1 cup Cool Whip

Garnish:

• Whole strawberries
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (or semisweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:

Combine crumbs and sugar. Stir in the melted butter until combined well. Dump all into 9-inch springform pan or a deep dish tart pan. Using your hands press the crumb crust to coat the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Truffle Layer:

Place chocolate and sugar in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the heavy cream to the boiling point (I use my microwave). Pour hot cream over the chocolate and sugar and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir to combine. You will end up with a velvet chocolate mixture kind of like pudding. Set the truffle mixture aside to cool completely. Once the mixture is cool, beat with handheld mixture until light in color and creamy. Set aside. Lick the beaters.

Strawberry Cheesecake Layer:

Beat softened cream cheese until fluffy. Add vanilla and nutmeg and beat a few seconds to make sure they are incorporated. Stir in the strawberries. Fold in the Cool Whip. Set in refrigerator until ready to use.

To Assemble:

Spoon the truffle filling evenly into the cooled crust. You should fill a third to a halfway up the sides. Lick the bowl. Let the truffle layer set in your refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Gently spoon the strawberry cheesecake filling over the truffle filling. Return to refrigerator to set. Lick the bowl.

In the meantime, melt the 1 cup of chocolate. Dip strawberries into the melted chocolate and set on foil-lined dish and place in refrigerator to set up. (This will only take about 15 minutes.) Lick your fingers and wipe the chocolate off of your face.

Drizzle remaining melted chocolate over the tart and then garnish with chocolate covered strawberries.

Cover loosely and store in the refrigerator for four hours or overnight.

You may want to jump on your treadmill… I’m just saying

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn