It's brownie time...

Do you know the story of brownie? Supposedly, a librarian - Miss Brown - from Maine (USA) forgot to use baking powder in her chocolate cake mixture which she was preparing for the visit of her friends. The cake came out of the oven totally flat. Despite that she served it and her friends loved it...
Brownie is a cake you either love or not. It's not too known in Poland and usually it's eaten with a bit of suspicion and questioning facial expresion: "was this cake really baked?". I love chocolate, I love dense and moist cake, I love walnuts... consequently, I couldn't not love brownie. The quality of chocolate is crucial for me - the one that we serve in Tango Cafe and the one I like most (from Nigella's recipe of course) is from Jedyna chocolate by Wedel. There has to be a dollop of whipped cream and preferably - some fresh fruit like strawberries or raspberries. The problem with serving brownie in a cafe is that cut into squares it doesn't look particularly appealing in a refrigerated display case no matter how delicious it is. Having this in mind, I was looking different chocolate cakes recipes that would taste equally good to brownie and present themselves well. And I found a great one on Joy of Baking - a bit modified brownie put into a tart pan with addition of ganache... The result: rich chocolaty indulgence!

Brownie Chocolate Tart

Makes one 28cm in diameter tart.

165g (1 1/2 cup) toasted and chopped walnuts*
300g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
90g semi-sweet / bittersweet chocolate, good quality
40g milk chocolate
65g unsweetened Dutch cocoa
375g granulated white sugar
4 large eggs or 5 medium/small eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
130g regular cream cheese like Philadelfia or Turek (don't use low fat)
110g all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

for ganache:
80g semisweet chocolate
100ml heavy whipping cream

1. Grease the tart pan with butter or oil. Preheat the oven to 165°C (325°F).
2. In a metal bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the butter & chocolate.
3. Using a hand mixer beat together the melted chocolate & butter with cocoa, then sugar. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract, cream cheese. Add the flour, salt and mix with a wooden spoon just until the flour is incorporated. Stir in the nuts.
4. Pour the batter into the tart pan and spread it evenly with an offset spatula. The batter will fill the pan almost to the top. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until the batter has set. If you insert a toothpick about 3cm from the side of the pan, it should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool down on a rack for about 10 minutes.
5. In the meantime prepare the ganache: heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to boil. Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
6. With the end of a wooden spoon (1,5cm in diameter) that is well greased with oil or butter, make holes, spacing them evenly, into a top of the brownie tart.** You can make from 10 to 20 small holes.  With a small spoon fill the holes with the ganache. The ganache will sink as it cools so add more ganache, as needed.
7.  Let the tart cool completely and then cover the refrigerate. It is best to make this tart the day before serving to allow all flavours to blend. You can decorate it with grated chocolate. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

* Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and toast nuts for 8 minutes until lightly brown and fragrant. Let cool and then chop into pieces.
** As you insert the end of wooden spoon into the tart, twist the spoon to prevent the tart from tearing.