Heaven on a plate

I love dinner parties. I love the preparation of the menu....what new delicious delicacies can I cook? I love being in the kitchen preparing the food. I love the plating up...making it look (somewhat) restaurant quality. I love serving the food, and watching my guests enjoy all my hard work as they hopefully savour every mouthful.

There is something really motivating about cooking for others when it's dinner party style. I tend to make a big effort, probably more for myself as I push the boundaries of my cooking repetoir. For me, it's not 'stick with what you know cause it's safe' when we have dinner guests. I always, yep always, make something I've never made before. Somewhat daring I know, but it makes it interesting! And I don't think I've had a 'fail' yet (touch wood).

My latest thing is making recipes that I have seen on Masterchef. They are typically gourmet...obesity producing dishes...the kind that you don't make every night. Special treats for special guests. We recently had some friends over for dinner, and apparently I am known in that household for my desserts. So, heaven forbid I should let them down! It was the perfect opportunity to try the chocolate tart I had seen made on a recent Masterchef episode. All I can say is that the hours of enjoyment and labour in the kitchen to produce this dish were more than worth it. Oh...my...goodness..............HEAVEN ON A PLATE!!

I'm not going to write the recipe here, because if you want it you can find it on the official Masterchef 2011 website. But basically, this tart consists of a beautiful sweet pastry, a layer of hazelnut praline crumbs, a chocolate filling, and a chocolate ganache topping. Complete this dish with a swirl of raspberry coulis and a dollop of cinnamon cream, and you will be the star of any dinner party you hold.

I actually nearly forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but below are a few photos of the process, and one (poor) photo of the tart once complete.

What is your all time favourite dessert?