The Kitchen Whisperer

Day 19 – Countdown to Christmas – Raspberry Chocolate Tartlettes

December 19th, 2011 |

Now let me preface this by saying this isn’t simple but it’s not difficult. I would never give you something extremely advanced (unless you asked for it). The hardest part of this is making the dough. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you can most certainly make it in there. But for me, there is something rustic about making the dough by hand.

These tartlettes are so elegant and decadent. These would be PERFECT for a small dinner with close friends or family. Serve these with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and maybe a nice glass of <insert type of wine here – I don’t drink wine so I have no clue what goes with desserts>.

Day 19 – Countdown to Christmas – Raspberry Chocolate Tartlettes

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Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

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Ingredients

3 cups AP flour
6 TBL white sugar
½ tsp salt
1 1/3 cup ice cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick plus 1 TBL unsalted butter, room temp
3 Tbl light corn syrup
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Fresh raspberries, for topping

Instructions

For the dough

Sift together the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl.
Toss butter through flour mixture to coat pieces. Either with a pastry cutter or using fingertips, rub the butter into the flour, working it until you have created a coarse meal with a few pea-size particles of butter
Empty crumbs onto a cool surface.
Form mixture into a mound.
Make a 4 to 5 inch well in center of the mound.
Combine egg and vanilla and pour mixture into the well.
Using a fork, draw crumbs into egg mixture, about 1 – 2 tablespoons at a time.
When all crumbs are added, toss mixture a few times with a pastry blender to form large clumps, then scrape into a mound.
Using the heel of your hand, push 2 – 3 tablespoons of the dough at a time, outward in 6 to 8 inch sweeps. This will blend fat and flour and give crust a delicate texture. If your hand becomes sticky, flour it as needed. Repeat process until all dough has been worked. Gather dough into a mound again. Repeat procedure 2 more times.
After third time, flour your hands.
Gently knead the dough 5 or 6 times to make it smooth.
Shape into a 5 inch disk.
Dust disk lightly with flour, score with side of your hand, cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 20 minutes before shaping. DO NOT LET DOUGH BECOME TOO HARD or it will be difficult to roll. If this happens, let pastry soften at room temperature.

Make the Tart

Roll out the tart dough and use it to line 10 mini-tart pans (yield may vary depending on the size of pans you use – mine were 4 inches). Trim off any excess dough. Refrigerate the shells until firm, about 30 minutes.
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Place the mini tart pans on a baking sheet for easy transfer. Line each shell with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with baking weights. Bake until the shells are pale gold, about 15 minutes. Remove the weights and the foil and continue to bake until the shells are golden, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
In the top pan of a double boiler over simmering water, combine the butter, chocolate, and corn syrup. Melt and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
Spread a few teaspoons of raspberry jam in the bottom of each shell. Fill as full as possible with the chocolate mixture. Let the filled tartlettes stand at room temperature until set, 1 to 2 hours. Before serving, top each tarlette with fresh raspberries.