chocolate tarts

This month’s Sugar High Friday is hosted by the lovely and prolific Alanna of A Veggie Venture. The theme for September’s SHF is a “Surprise Inside”. I had many ideas of what I could make, but in the end I left it to the last minute and I decided to make a simple and straightforward chocolate tart. The surprise or the twist of the tart is that there are two layers. The tart is filled with a milk chocolate ganache and is then topped with a dark chocolate ganache. A simple and elegant chocolate tart with a tender chocolate pastry and two layers of delicious ganache.

I have made this tart many times before. I have experimented with it by adding instant coffee to create an espresso tart and I have added caramel to create a chocolate bar tart. This time I experimented by adding a layer of caramelized rice crispies. Sadly it wasn't as crispy as I would have liked, so I don't recommend adding in rice crispies. This is one of the reasons why I find Sugar High Friday's valuable, it provides me with an excuse to play, experiment and share what I do and learn in the kitchen. I also enjoy seeing the wonderful array of things food bloggers create, it is tremendously interesting and inspiring.





chocolate tart dough

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup 35% cream
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder

1. Cream butter and confectioner’s sugar.
2. Add in egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth.
3. Add in cream and mix until combined.
4. Sift in flour and cocoa and beat on low speed until just combined.
5. Wrap and chill dough until firm in the refrigerator, approximately 1 hour.
6. This dough is soft, so you need to work quickly when rolling out the dough and pressing into tart pans. Prick the dough all over with a fork and chill tart shells for 10 minutes before placing into the oven. For more perfect shells you can line the tarts with foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights,
7. Bake at 325ºF for approximately 15 minutes.
8. Let the tarts cool before adding in the layers of ganache.

The amounts for the ganache will fill approximately 8-10 small tarts

milk chocolate ganache

200g. milk chocolate
150ml 35% cream

1. To make a ganache, chop your chocolate into small pieces.
2. Bring the cream to a boil, on either the stove or the microwave.
3. Transfer your cream to a small bowl and add in your chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes before stirring. Once the chocolate is fully incorporated your ganache is done.
4. Fill the tarts half way with the milk chocolate ganache and level it as evenly as possible.
5. Once all your tarts are half filled, place them in the refrigerator or freezer until the chocolate has set up. Once the chocolate has firmed up, you can then make the dark chocolate ganache and pour it over top.

dark chocolate ganache

200g. dark chocolate
160ml 35% cream

1. To make a ganache, chop your chocolate into small pieces.
2. Bring the cream to a boil, on either the stove or the microwave.
3. Transfer your cream to a small bowl and add in your chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes before stirring. Once the chocolate is fully incorporated your ganache is done.
4. Pour the dark chocolate ganache on top of the milk chocolate layer and place in the refrigerator so that chocolate sets up.
5. Once the chocolate has firmed up, serve with a quenelle or whipped cream or a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

Technorati Tags: Baking, Chocolate, Dessert, SHF23, Sugar High Fridays, Tarts