Bittersweet Chocolate Citrus Tart with Jasmine Tea Scented Whipped Cream

I rang the New Year in with friends and this bittersweet citrus chocolate tart from Alice Medrich's book Pure Desserts. The book should be called "Perfect Desserts" because that's what this tart was -- the dark bittersweet chocolate offset by the grapefruit and orange zest and the wonderful jasmine-scented whipped cream just adding to the wild party in my mouth. As wonderful as this tart was, it was the whipped cream that caused a sensation and started me thinking about other jasmine-infused desserts I might make.

I also found the same recipe on line at epicurious.com but uncredited to Medrich. I suspect it's her recipe leftover from an article she wrote and just uncredited in the archives.

The recipe really has three parts -- the tart crust (easy to make and just patted into place, no rolling out), the bittersweet chocolate filling (very straight forward, although she used a new-to-me technique to make sure the egg wasn't raw to avoid food-borne illness) and the wonderful jasmine tea-flavored whipped cream. Just leave enough time for the cream to steep and the tart to chill.

The ethereal cream was an amazement. I've never had anything quite so wonderful atop my chocolate dessert before. Use the best quality jasmine tea you can find (you only need a tablespoon, after all) Look for ones scented with real jasmine flowers, not oils. Medrich recommends steeping in the fridge for 8-12 hours. I didn't start enough ahead so I steeped it about four hours outside the fridge (it was a cold day). You can taste a bit of the cream to see if it has a slight, perfume, floral note to it before straining out the tea leaves. Did I mention the taste is ethereal?

Here's the recipe for Bittersweet Chocolate Citrus Tart with Jasmine Whipped Cream. (fyi -- I skipped the candied orange peel, the tart was perfect without it).