Tuesday, February 21, 2012

TWD - Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

It's Tuesday again with another delicious recipe from Dorie Greenspan as I continue to blog with Tuesdays with Dorie.  The recipe is found on pages 382-383 of her book, Baking with Julia or you can go to the blog of one of our hosts ( StephSpikeJaime and Jessica) to find it.  



A beautiful, rich, seemingly sinful chocolate tart is the perfect dessert for the recent Valentine's Day or just when you want a little guilty pleasure.  This recipe is relatively easy to make and can be done in steps.  Here is how mine went together.

Step 1 is making the tart crusts.

Assemble the ingredients (Mise en place).

Combine in the food processor.  I would recommend
adding an extra tablespoon of ice water as the dough was pretty dry.
Roll out (you'll need to smear the dough together
with the palm of your hand), shape into a rough square and flatten.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 20 minutes.


 While you're waiting, how about dinner?

Roasted chicken and lots of different vegetables.  The chicken pan has onion,
parsnips, carrots, celery and kale.
Now, back to the project at hand.

Spray your tart pans so your pretty little tarts will come out.

Divide the dough into six equal pieces (I used my scale, but you could just eye-ball it).
Roll out your dough into a rough circle large enough to fit your tart pan all the way up the sides.
Gently press the dough into the pan being sure to get
it into the angle. 

Press along the sides to fill the grooves with dough.
Shave off the excess dough. Prick the bottom of the crust
all over with a fork.


Ready for the oven.

Bake until the crust is dry blistery, and firm.  Turn them halfway
through the baking time.  I actually baked mine a little longer than the
directions indicated as I wanted to be sure they were crispy
{but not burned :) }.
Time to make the filling.

Assemble your ingredients.


I used Biscoff for the biscotti because I love it and I didn't have
time to make my own.  Don't chop them too finely.
Be sure to beat the eggs long enough to get to ribbon stage.

Fold the eggs with the chocolate mixture.  Lighten the chocolate
with about a third of the egg mixture first.  Don't be heavy-handed
at this point or you will lose all of the beautiful air you created
in the egg yolks.

Scoop evenly into the tart pans.  Smooth the tops and bake.
Again, I baked a little longer than instructed (it could just be
my oven).


Cool for 20 minutes and they are ready to eat.

I wasn't serving these tarts for an occasion and wasn't prepared to
plate them properly with a sauce and a garnish so I decided
I could at least have a little fun with it. 

I was very pleased with the outcome of this recipe. The dough is a little hard to work with but seems to be very forgiving so you can compensate by piecing and patching.  The filling could be varied by adding different goodies.  Walnuts or brickle would make a nice addition.  Homemade biscotti would also be a nice touch.

Now, I'm off to share these rich and delicious desserts with some friends.




4 comments:

  1. Your tarts and your dinner look great but I really love your plate or placemat with the purple flowers!

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  2. Your tarts look like they worked out very well, but those roasted vegetables are making me very hungry!

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  3. lovely tarts! thanks for baking with me :)

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  4. Your photos look great...as for dinner...well, I wish I were there! :)

    ~ Carmen
    http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com

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