Roasted Tangerine and Chocolate Tart

A few weeks back, we decided to celebrate the solstice with a dessert and eggnog party.  What goes with eggnog, I pondered, while thumbing through recipe books, the gray skies of impending snow filtering through my kitchen window.  Alexander looks up.  Chocolate?, he asks, hopefully.  Sure, I could see that.  After all, the cafes have been selling out of eggnog lattes, the nog's rich spicy sweetness pairing perfectly with the bitter espresso.  Maybe truffles are just the thing.  But wait.  My stash of good chocolate is gone (blame holiday season stress), and i've just used my last drop of cream on a batch of cheddar sage scones.  Besides, I have all of these beautiful tangerines sitting cheerily on the counter, waiting to be enjoyed.

Here is the result:
Roasted tangerines, infused with a pinch of brown sugar, grace silky chocolate "ganache" in a crunchy almond crust.  

 
Ganache without chocolate or cream?, you ask astutely.  It's my new favorite recipe!  Ganache for the industrious.  Cocoa powder (a blend of raw and very dark dutch), a few hefty tablespoons of coconut butter (I imagine other nut butters would work here for a more flavored ganache), a dash of maple syrup, and a few pinches of good sea salt.  Blend.  A bit of coconut milk or more maple syrup could be added to thin if necessary.  This mixture will harden like traditional ganache when cool, making it ideal for frosting, tart filling, truffles, etc.   

The roasted tangerines are from one of my favorite dessert cookbooks, In the Sweet Kitchen, by Regan Daley.  Find this book, and find a spot for it right at hand in the kitchen.  It is my most loved baking reference.