Chocolate Blackberry Tarts

Every now and again we pick up something strange (well, OK, I am the one who picks it up, usually). And then … and then, it sits in the cupboard, waiting for someone to feel inclined to deal with it. This time, I had picked up some soy chocolate custard. In a box. It had instructions on how to boil it, to create … custard.

I must point out that the word “custard” means something different, to an American, than it does to someone from the UK. It’s probably something like the difference between the words “cookie” and “biscuit” – it’s way too subtle to understand, you just have to be in the culture for enough years to accept that you never will.

In any event, I happened across some blackberries in the market across the street, and we had some cheese on hand (yes, we’ve taken a step away from vegan eating), and some short-crust. So, this was a simple matter of rolling out the crust, forming it into some little tart pans, throwing in a few wee chunks of Crannog cheese (a full-fat, unpasteurized, semi-hard cheese), some blackberries, some sugar, and topping with the soy chocolate custard. I would have used a different cheese, and certainly will avoid this one for this application, as it turned rubbery, and didn’t add much flavor. A ricotta would have worked, as would a brie, maybe. Something more flavorful next time, that’s for certain.

Into the oven until they’re brown (these ought to have browned a bit more), and you have a dessert which is tasty, rich, and took about 10 minutes to throw together.

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