Cranberry chocolate pie

As a housewife how to be lazy in the holiday season? For me I do things ahead. Dumpling filling, done. Christmas cookie dough, done. Pie crust, done. Fruit conserve in jar (as gift), done. So I have nothing to fuzz on the Christmas Day. But lazy or busy, I always have a moment for coffee and dessert. Glad that things done ahead, these tartlets and pie arrived on table in 30 minutes (please put your feet in my mouth if I start saying yum-o *LOL*).

The crust recipe's from Ilva. This crust is chocolate-y but not so buttery like shortbread; it's probably not the type you like to eat on its own but definitely the one lets any sweet and gooey fruit filling stand out better. What filled inside now is cranberry conserve, go check out what a gorgeous one Sher made! I'm still gasping! So here they come; bitter (chocolate crust) and sweet (conserve) are made for each other.

Recipe of cranberry conserve: please use this recipe from Sher at What Did You Eat?

Recipe of chocolate tartlet/pie crust: recipe courtesy Ilva at Lucullian Delights (A few modifications are made to adopt American-style measurement and kitchen)

Ingredients: yield one 6" pie and 6 tartlets

1+2/3 cups unbleached flour, 5 Tbps Dutch possessed cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 4 Tbps vegetable shortening, 3 Tbps butter, 6+1/2 Tbps sugar, 1 egg, spoonful of water.

Directions:

1. Combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder well in a large mixing bowl
2. In another mixing bowl, beat shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg to coporate.
3. Combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture to form a dough. Add little water if necessary, only a spoonful at a time as we aren't looking for wet dough.
4. Wrap the dough and rest it in fridge for half an hour. Roll it to 1/2 cm thick (less thick for tartlet), in between you should rest the flatten dough in fridge again whenever it resists to spread out. Cut it to fit your pie and tart pans, wrap and rest them in fridge again for half an hour, the purpose is to allow the gluten in the dough totally relax so it won't shrink back and is able to keep the shape during baking. In this stage, you can freeze the dough for later use, or store them in fridge for 1 or 2 days.
5. Fill the dough with conserve... and I dress up the round pie with two different fillings: cranberry conserve and marmalade. Bake in a 350F oven for 30-40 minutes for the pie, 20 minutes for the tartlets.

Enjoy this holiday, my dearest friends!