As you know, I love the tangy, sour taste of lemons. Even when I was a little girl, I would pass over brownies and go for a lemon bar every time. Although I still love lemon, I like to indulge in a sweet chocolate treat every now and then. Now that there’s been research that says chocolate has health benefits, I’m definitely more likely to have a piece of a chocolate tart. Let’s go over a few and see if I can talk you into nourishing yourself with a little (or a lot!) of good old-fashioned chocolate goodness.
A new study suggests that eating chocolate can help you stay thin. Researchers at the University of California-San Diego found that people who frequently eat small amounts of chocolate have lower body-mass indexes than people who don’t.
Chocolate decreases stroke risk. A Swedish study found that eating more than 45 grams of chocolate per week—about two bars worth—led to a 20 percent decrease in stroke risk among women. Susanna Larsson, the author of the study, claims that the flavonoids in chocolate have antioxidant properties that can help fight strokes.
Chocolate protects against inflammation. The Moli-sani project, a large health study conducted in Europe, found that eating a bit of chocolate will decrease the amount of C-reactive protein in your blood. C-reactive protein is a protein associated with tissue inflammation.
Chocolate reduces the likelihood of a heart attack. The same study also found that eating chocolate prevents blood clots, which in turn reduces the risk of heart attacks. Blood platelets clump together more slowly in chocolate eaters, the study said.
Chocolate may prevent cancer. Researchers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University found that cocoa in chocolate also contains a compound called pentameric procyanidin, or pentamer, which disrupts proteins that causes cancer.
Chocolate is good for your skin. This is a new fact for me, since I grew up with doctors telling me that it will cause breakouts and acne. Turns out that it’s actually good for your skin! Well, cocoa at least. Antioxidants found in cocoa protect the skin from the sun’s UV rays, but that doesn’t mean you can skip the sunscreen. Most antioxidants are lost during the process that turns cocoa into chocolate, but food chemists are working to try to preserve those and make chocolate even healthier.
The takeaway here is that chocolate is not a health food. It should be consumed in moderation– many of these studies used a sample piece about the size of a Hershey’s kiss– rather than with abandon. A lot of this research was paid for by chocolate manufacturers too, so it’s definitely best to make sure your portions of this sweet treat are under control.
This dessert is one extravagance that will not let you down, though you’ll probably want seconds. Really, few things go better together than chocolate and peanut butter. The milk chocolate, when combined with the cream, turns miraculously elegant and creamy. It is then housed by a peanut butter and pretzel (oh my!) crust that is perfect for this chocolatey treat. And this is a no bake dessert– no need to turn your oven on for this one! This is cool perfection in every bite.
This recipe is adapted from Food and Wine and makes a tart that will serve 12 lucky people.
Ingredients for Milk Chocolate Tart with Peanut Butter Crust:
For the Filling:
12 ounces good quality milk chocolate, roughly chopped
1 ½ cups) heavy cream
For the Crust:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups crushed salted pretzels plus additional for topping tart
Make the filling:
Place chocolate in a large heat-safe bowl and set aside
In a small saucepan, bring cream to a rolling boil over medium high heat (do not stir) and then immediately pour over chocolate; let sit for five minutes and then whisk until completely smooth.
Let cool at room temperature for one hour and make crust
Prepare the Crust:
In a medium bowl, melt peanut butter in microwave by heating for 15 seconds, stirring and repeating until easy to stir.
Stir in pretzel crumbs.
Press mixture into a 11-inch tart pan so that it is evenly spread out and up the edges; place in refrigerator until ready to use.
Once ready, pour chocolate mixture into chilled crust; then chill tart in refrigerator 4 hours (or up to 24 hours).
Use additional pretzels to decorate tart before serving if desired
It’s that simple!
