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:
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Chocolate Ganache Tartlets |
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Ingredients |
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2 sheets shortcrust pastry, thawed |
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Method |
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You’ll find the printable version of this recipe here.
Cakecrumbs 
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
Spiced chocolate sounds perfect.
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.
When I make mince pies I use a mini muffin tin – they’re much nicer when you get one teensy bite. Pop the top off and put some whipped or clotted cream inside, replace the lid and munch. Super good. I don’t know if you can find mincemeat near you, it’s too late to make your own now but if you do, you might want to jazz it up with some extra mixed spice and a splash of booze. Here’s my pastry recipe. Hope you don’t mind ounces!
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.
Taste is always more important than the looks. And I can’t wait to taste these ones!
Wow! Great job. I also like your idea about taking a cookbook challenge.
Hi! For the ganache, may I know what kind of cream is needed? Whipping cream or..? Also, when the butter is added to the chocolate+cream mixture, what state does it have to be in? Liquid or semi-solid?
Thank you so much!
Hey there. I’ve successfully made ganache with most types of cream. I typically use thickened cream, which is what I think you guys call whipping cream. I’ve also used pure cream, single cream and double cream. Ideally, I will use double cream, but the thickened cream is what I usually have on hand because it’s cheaper and versatile.
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.
Ahh, can’t wait to give this a try, thank you so much! 🙂
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