Chocolate with Francois: Honey Saffron Tart

This is an interesting baking group.  We use a book by Francois Payard and it’s all about chocolate.  The recipes are not for the faint of heart.  They are challenging. 

This month, the pick was made by Asthe of Astheroshe-Accro. Make sure to visit her site for the recipe if you want to give this one a try.

There were three taste testers at our house: myself, Ted, and Richard (Ted’s brother and the family choco-holic).

I did make the Chocolate Chiboust this time however, because it called for gelatin which is not vegetarian friendly I substituted Xanthan Gum and over did it.  The Chiboust resulted in a very thick pudding-like topping.  It was passable but nothing any of the three of us could rave about.

The saffron apples and the custard were perfect.  In fact, we would have enjoyed this tart without the topping.  To take that one step further, simply saffron apples and ice cream would have made us all happy….yes, even our choco-holic. 

The wonderful saffron and honey glazed apples

A light custard middle…

topped with a chocolate chiboust

We did enjoy the tart but as I said, the chocolate flavor was not as pronounced as we would have liked.   Even though I messed this recipe up, all plates were returned to the kitchen completely cleaned.  Not even a crumb.

Good pick, Asthe.  I’ll use the saffron fruit and the custard recipe again for sure.  Maybe I should practice more with Francois’ fancy chocolate recipes?  I’ll get it right one of these times..

Joanne