Dark Chocolate Mini Tarts

Chocolate ganache tartlets. The most buttery, flakiest shortcrust pastry shell filled with delicious silky chocolate ganache and topped with almond & pistachio dust, some chocolate shavings!!

“Never
underestimate the power of a chocolate”

Chocolates and more chocolates…well I can never have enough of it. Chocolate and me have a very strong connection, I can have anything that is chocolate. These chocolate tarts just happened by chance, well I had planned to bake some lemon tarts and baked the tart shells and prepared the lemon curd put it in the refrigerator for it to set. By the time Athena & Arnav were back home from school my lemon curd was also set…they got pretty happy that I am making them something yummy but were not too keen on lemon curd as it was too lemony for them. Then this idea of chocolate tartlets happened to me and then made some dark chocolate ganache, the most soft and silky ever. The result was something my personal favorite too, kids and me polished off all the tarts in just 2 days, now they have requested me to make more for their friends. I will soon my beautiful babies, anything for you two.

VK, this is for you…who is thousands of miles away from me right now in USA for month long business trip. Missing you lots like crazy. It’s been 15 years of our relationship (13 yrs in marriage and 2 yrs dating) but its seems like a new romance. Ours was not a fairytale kinda story, no love at first sight infact I hated him…we became friends, then best friends and I never knew when it turned into a love story…a very cute one. Infact we have given a tag of “most romantic couple” in our circle. Well now lets get back to the topic of discussion in hand, Chocolate Ganache tartlets.

“‘My heart says
chocolate and wine but my jeans says eat a salad”

These tarts are the chocolatiest thing ever, but the short crust pastry here is very delicate, and it took a lot of effort rolling it. The baked tart shells are very buttery, flaky and crisp and the addition of silky smooth ganache was simply heaven. Loved every bite of it. While making the dough for pastry take care not to handle it too much. Chill the pastry dough for at least an hour before rolling out and baking as this will make the tarts most very flaky. I added baking beans to the tart cases while baking as this prevented the tarts from puffing up or shrinking while baking. You know what is the best part of these individual chocolate tartlet, you cannot stop at one and if you are a chocolate addict like me you will simply go on and on guiltless.

Follow the recipe below to enjoy them.

Ingredients:

·
For tart shells:

·
175 grams All Purpose flour

·
100 grams cold butter, cut into small pieces

·
25 grams icing sugar

·
1 tablespoon ice cold water

·
1 egg yolk

For chocolate ganache :

·
115 grams good quality dark chocolate

·
½ cup heavy cream

·
2 tbsp butter at room temperature

·
For topping :

·
8 almonds

·
8 pistachios (grind the nuts fine)

·
Some chocolate shavings

Directions for tart shells :

1. Add flour, butter and icing sugar in a medium bowl, mix well till it resembles breadcrumbs, then add one egg yolk and one tablespoon of ice cold water. Knead till the mixture just sticks together.

2. Remove the mixture from the bowl onto a floured surface and gather it into a ball using your hands. Knead the pastry no more than 2-3 times to form a smooth ball. Wrap it into a cling film and place it into the refrigerator for about an hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

4. Grease the tart tins.

5. Take some dough and evenly press the dough into the bottom and sides of the tart tins.

6. Prick 2-3 holes into each tart tins using a fork.

7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or till they are golden brown and completely dry. Remove the baked tart shells from the tins soon after, taking care as they are very fragile. Set aside to cool.

8. Once cool put inside refrigerator to chill.

Directions for chocolate ganache :

1. Chop chocolate and place it into deep bowl.

2. Heat cream until it just starts to boil, pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for a few minutes until the chocolate has melted.

3. Using a whisk begin to stir very gently into circular motions till it becomes a uniform mixture.

4. Add butter and mix once again till it becomes a uniform mixture once again.

5. The prepared mixture should be thick enough to be filled into the tart shells, if it is too liquidy allow it to cool for a few minutes till it thickens.

For assembling the tarts :

1. Remove the tart shells 30 minutes before serving.

2. Pour the ganache into the tarts.

3. Top with the almond & pistachio dust and some chocolate shavings.

4. Serve

Enjoy the most buttery, flakiest and chocolaty tarts.

Love,