Asparagus Tart + Chocolate Beet Cake

On Sunday, I made an asparagus tart and a chocolate beet cake. Let's attack the tart first. Since the Willy St. Co-op didn't have ricotta salata or creme fraiche (damn you, keyboard; I want a circonflexe and an accent aigu), I had to employ some creative substitutions. Thinking ricotta salata was similar to ricotta, I grabbed a tub of it, and in lieu of the creme fraiche, I snagged half and half. I wanted to get the tart started, so I didn't look up the definitions of ricotta salata and creme fraiche (I'd never used either in my cooking) in my food dictionary until after the tart was in the oven. Alas, I am woefully ignorant about these two ingredients apparently because half and half is a far cry from creme fraiche and ricotta salata is an entirely different animal from  ricotta. I was beginning to suspect it wouldn't set well, and when I took the tart out of the oven, my fears were confirmed. I managed to salvage it by beating two eggs and baking them on top of the tart. It turned out pretty well, but next time I'll abide by the recipe. Oh, and my wrists have forbidden me to type up the longish recipe for the tart, so if you want it, let me know.

The chocolate beet cake was less successful in my mind. A colleague graciously said it tasted "earthy," not "like dirt," which is how I'd described it. (A.H., I stole that descriptor from your take on spring mix.) If there's another bunch of beets in this week's CSA share, I'm going to either pickle them or roast them and make a salad with goat cheese or shaved Parmesan, arugula, and maybe some balsamic vinegar. Beets might be one of those things that, for me, are best served in a more traditional mode. (Never fear, though. I shan't become traditional anytime soon; I've been called eccentric or quirky so many times that I probably couldn't become traditional if I tried.) The cake wasn't my favorite, but it might appeal to other palates, so here's the recipe (from MADSAC's From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh, Seasonal Produce):

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3-4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 c. oil
• 3 c. shredded beets

Heat oven to 325. Grease 2 9-inch cake pans. Whisk dry ingredients together. Melt chocolate very slowly over low heat or in a double boiler. Cool chocolate; blend thoroughly with eggs and oil. Combine flour mixture with chocolate mixture, alternating with the beets. Pour into pans. Bake until fork can be removed from center cleanly, 40-50 mins.