Big City, Little Kitchen

My s’mores tart incorporates the primary elements of the classic dessert (graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows), but this is no messy, eat-with-your-hands treat. The chocolate acquires a melted consistency in the form of a part-ganache, part-pudding filling that is poured into a graham cracker crust. Marshmallow-y meringue is piped on top, then briefly toasted under the broiler. A slice of this low, elegant tart is creamy, crunchy, and toasty, transporting your taste buds to childhood campfires.

Crust (adapted from Gourmet cookbook)

• 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tb brown sugar
• 4 tb melted butter

Filling

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate,* finely chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 recipe Meringue Frosting (below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make crust: in a medium bowl, stir together crumbs, sugar, and melted butter with a fork, until all ingredients are well-incorporated and mixture resembles wet sand. Using the back of a spoon, press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan (it will be delicate). Place pan on baking sheet, and bake for 8 minutes, then cool completely.

Make filling: heap the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl. In a saucepan over a medium flame, heat the milk until steaming; pour into bowl over chocolate. Whisk until all chocolate is melted into milk, then whisk in vanilla; let cool completely.

Make meringue: set a saucepan of water on the stove to simmer. In a large bowl, beat together egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, water, cream of tartar, and salt using a handheld mixer. Set the bowl onto the pan of simmering water, and beat egg mixture at high speed until it holds stiff, glossy peaks, 5 to 7 minutes (go for a little longer than you think is necessary). Remove bowl from heat and transfer to the bowl of the standing mixer; add vanilla and beat on high another 6 to 8 minutes, until very thick.

Assemble tart: pour chocolate into shell. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until firm. Preheat the oven’s broiler. Spoon the meringue into a pastry bag fitted with a #21 star tip, and, using small squeezes, pipe little blobs of meringue onto filling’s surface, covering it completely. Put tart on baking sheet and ease under broiler; cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until tips of meringue are nicely browned. Carefully remove tart pan from baking sheet and put back in refrigerator for another 30 minutes or so, allowing the chocolate filling to reset. To serve, carefully remove tart pan, and slice with a very sharp knife.

While you could certainly serve this tart cold, I happen to think it’s perfect at room temperature; the filling holds its shape but is soft, and melds so well with the gooey, carmelized meringue.

Meringue Frosting (from January 2008 Gourmet)

• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 tb light corn syrup
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

*Feel free to experiment with different types of chocolate in the filling; substituting a bit of milk chocolate, for example, would add a subtle difference to the flavor.