Mince tarts are so pretty. So festive. But so unappealing to all of us. I don't know what it is, but we just don't like them. I always stare at them in the supermarket wishing that were different.
So I decided to pinch the aesthetics and substitute the taste. These sweet tartlets make for a delicious and festive dessert for the chocolate-lover.
Speaking of aesthetics, these aren't very neat. I'm a little under the weather at present and can't stand for very long, so I whipped these out in half an hour and neglected to be neat with them. Oops.
Nevermind. Cause they taste dreamy.
Short, crunchy base. Rich chocolate ganache. Hey, I'm just content with anything that has pastry.
I pretty much made these up as I went along with bits and pieces I had on hand. You don't need to be very specific with these, but here's a rough approximation of what I did:
Chocolate Ganache Tartlets |
Ingredients |
2 sheets shortcrust pastry, thawed
200g dark chocolate, chopped
100g cream
20g butter
icing sugar, for dusting
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Method |
- Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a round-based tart tray.
- Using a fluted cutter a little bigger than the rounds in your tray, cut 10 rounds from your shortcrust pastry and press them into the tin. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes inside the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Meanwhile, grease or line a baking tray. Cut 10 stars from the remaining pastry and place on tray. Bake for 10 minutes
- To make the ganache, combine the cream and chocolate in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate has melted and mixture is well combined. Remove from heat; stir in butter
- Pour ganache into the tart cases, then chill in the fridge until set
- Before serving, dust the shortcrust stars with icing sugar and place on top of the tartlets
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You'll find the printable version of this recipe here.
sleepy
This would work well with spiced chocolate methinks, esp for Christmas.
Personally I love a mince pie/tart but I will only eat my mothers or my own. I never eat shop bought. Never. Trust me when I tell you that is the reason why you don't like them
I've never had one that isn't shop-bought -- perhaps I should try home baked and see if I like them then. I saw a recipe with mince raspberries I'm keen to try.
4oz self raising flour
1tbsp ground almonds
2oz sunflower margarine
1tbsp grated orange zest
dash of beaten egg and milk to make a soft dough
bake for 10 mins on 200 C. Brush each one with a little of the egg and milk mixture, sprinkle with granulated white sugar and poke a weeny hole in each one.
NOMNOMNOM.
Thank you so much!
As for the butter, I tend to add it straight from the fridge, or at room temperature. It may work fine if it's melted, but sometimes the separation of the fats/water that happens when you melt it can make chocolate seize.