Mexican Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon-Spiced Pecans

I spend my long rainy winter mornings dreaming of leaving this place.  Just about anything around me can set off my wanderlust, and I'll spend hours pouring over flights and budgets.  I figure out how to milk our already squeezed budget dry, so there is not a penny to be pulled from it.  I look at pictures, and read accounts of travellers tales, and sometimes I have to go back and read my own blog to remind myself that I have travelled too.  It's easy to forget.  With spring break coming up you better believe my fingers are flying over the keyboard, watching the prices in airfare go up and down.  Just before the fiasco with the car my heart was set on Puerto Rico, and now my eye is on Turkey.  Those who know me realize it's all in my head, and I'll likely never acutally commit, but it's an escape from this poor and monatanous reality.  The student budget just doesn't really work for me.  (Not complaining, not complaing!)

While I made this tart I thought back to my times in Mexico and realized that I'd never actually tried a chocolate in, or from Mexico.  Is chocolate not a big thing in Mexico? Becuase they have their own type!  I chopped up the bar of Mexican chocolate I bought at Trader Joes in the States (the only place I've ever seen it) and tried a piece.  It was delightful!  The texture was grainy and light, and the term stone-ground comes to life in your mouth.  It's a totally unique texture, so next time you see some, buy it and have a try.  

Baking notes:
-First of all, I used walnuts, not pecans (our food budget is at an all time low with Christmas's credit card bills coming in).  Unfortunetly regardless of which nut you use they are disappointing, I didn't like them at all.  Poor texture on the egg white/sugar mixture and boring - overly spiced flavour.  I'd like the tart more without them.
-I had a leftover bag of graham crumbs in the perfect amount, which I used in place of chocolate wafer crumbs.  I'll admit that the tart may have been enchanced with chocolate crumbs instead, but I enjoyed it either way.
-The tart is very cinnamon-y, and I used Vietnamese cinnamon for all of it. I found the flavour to be just a little overwhelming, but it didn't turn me off entirely, I still enjoyed it very much!

The recipe for Mexican Chocolate Tart with Cinnamon-Spiced Pecans can be found on the epicurious website.

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