Chocolate Tarts
I saw these little beauties being made on television and just had to give them a try them, they looked so simple and in reality were not far off so you can happily call this an easy chocolate tart recipe. It looks complicated but once you get started you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is. When you have added the cream and the raspberries it is just so perfectly delicious you will battle to keep your friends at bay.
It makes 4 x 11cm diameter tartlets and I found 1/2 to be enough per person but if you have some srious chocolate loving mates, give them a whole one. It’s really important to measure the ingredients, so get out your scale or stop in at your local supermarket to buy one.
What you need
Pastry
240g cake flour
160g butter
Pinch of salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Filling
160ml fresh full fat cream
40g butter
180g dark chocolate, finely chopped
On the side
1 punnet raspberries/strawberries
250ml thick cream (full fat)
1 tbs caster sugar
The process
Use a food processor for the pastry, it is very straight forward.
Take the flour, butter and salt and pop it into your food processor. Blitz it intermittently a few times and then give it a good blitzing until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add a tablespoon of cold water and then blitz again for 20 seconds or so, the dough will start to stick together and now it is done.
Tip onto a cool surface sprinkled with a little flour and bring it together into a ball. Don’t knead it, just form it. Now cover with cling film and put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes (a littkle longer is not a problem).
Now take the dough and place onto a floured surface and with a rolling pin roll it out nice and thin, 3mm is about what you are looking for. The real trick is in the lining of the tart tins, you want to line them loosely so that when they cook they do not shrink too much. Line the tins and then prick the bases a few times with a fork and then pop them in the fridge again.
Take the chopped up chocolate and place in a glass mixing bowl that has been warmed and dried (just pour a little boiling water into it and then dry it). Add the cream and butter to a pot and heat slowly until the butter has melted and steam is coming off the cream. Pour the cream into the chocolate and mix gently until all of the chocolate has melted, voila.. chocolate filling.
Take the tins from the fridge, line with baking paper and fill with ceramic beads or dry beans (I got my tins and beads from Kitchenique in Woodmead, you want the ones with the loose bases) and bake them for about 7-8 minutes in a 180 Celsius oven. Remove the baking paper and beads and bake for another 10 minutes or until the pastry has a golden brown edge. Allow them to cool before removing the pastry.
Once cooled, distribute the chocolate evenly between the 4 pastry cases and your tarts are ready.
Whip some cream and place on the side topped with the berries. Bloody marvelous I tell you!
Dont forget to see what competitions and giveaways there are, you just never know!
have you eva tried fried banana served with custard?
Hi Noltha, I sure have and also like a bit of cream and a crumbled up flake and, and, and… I just love bananas. Have a fun weekend G
you the best chef ever, i try your dishes when we have feast @ home. thanks to you Graham
Thanks so much Noltha, so glad you are enjoying the recipes, happy days G
Good day Graham
do you have a Tiramasu recipe that i could try out please
Hi Belinda, I sure do, here you go. G
https://cookbook.co.za/dessert-recipes/chocolate-desserts/easy-tiramisu/
i love your recipies i have tried , more than 5 now and its amaizing thank you so much.
Hi there Thembi, I’m so g;lad you are enjoying the site, happy days G
Hi Graham
Thank you for yet another weekend with something special to look forward to. Feedback will follow!
Thanks Desire, hope your weekend was as good as mine 😉 G
Hi Graham
thank you for the lovely recipies.
since it was my birthday yesterday, this will certainly be a treat for me.
happy travels and enjoy Mozambique.
regards
Jo-anne
Happy Birthday Joanne, I trust you got spoiled and had a fabulous time. Thanks, I certainly will, just love Moz. Happy days G
Could you make this one large tart instead of 4 small ones? How long would it have to bake for?
Hi Zelda, you could make one large one and the pastry baking time would be the same, just keep an eye on it. The chocloate filling would take a bit longer to set nicely as well. Happy days G
@ what oven temp must the pastry base be baked?
Hi Edwina, it’s at 180 Celsius. Got me, recipe updated thanks for pointing that out. Happy days G