Chocolate Tart

The tricky ingredient in the Chocolate Tart is wheatmeal digestive biscuits.

What the heck are those, you might be thinking? So was I. Some British or Australian import found only in NYC? In the paragraph preceeding the recipe, it says that wheatmeal biscuits have just a touch of sweetness, which prevents the tart from being too overwhelmingly sweet, since the filling is basically ganache.

The lightbulb that went off in my head was that I've had crackers like that...Carr's makes them...they taste very good with Brie. So even if I couldn't find "wheatmeal digestive biscuits", maybe Carr's would be a good substitute. At work in the pantry we happened to have a box of Carr's mixed crackers, and on the cover picture I was surprised and pleased to see that they feature a cracker with the printed words "wheatmeal digestive". Now, why Gourmet couldn't just say go get a box of Carr's Crackers is beyond me.

Alas, I couldn't find the darn things once I knew where to look (without a major trip down the line). I did, however, find an acceptable substitute at the Fruitful Basket--Oaten Biscuits straight from the estate of hrh Prince Charles. (If you've never heard of Duchy Originals, take a look.)

They do make a superb crust to complement the chocolate (and of course it helps to have the best possible chocolate you can get your hands on--we're using 70% at work because of the healthful effects on the body). M. told me after lunch that the tart, with a strawberry sauce and handful of raspberries, was the best dessert she'd ever had.