Challenge Book #19 - Chocolate Custard Tarts

Sometimes posts just write themselves and sometimes I sit for ages just twiddling at the keys. Like I am doing right now. All I can think to say is that these tarts are absolutely delicious and I love them. That's the whole story really.



The pastry is crisp and buttery. The filling is soft and deeply chocolately. It's just all good.



They are also easy to make. Using bought pastry simplifies thing magnificently.



They are also quite versatile, just by changing the type of chocolate and subsituting the water in the custard for a fruit puree. I have made these tarts as raspberry and white chocolate, as you can see here. They don't look terribly attractive, but they do taste fantastic. I've also made raspberry and dark chocolate and white chocolate and passionfruit, both also good. I am also keen to try a banana and milk chocolate version one day soon.


This recipe is from bills open kitchen by Bill Granger, which is Book #19 in the KJ Wants a Kitchen Aid Challenge. Bill Granger has some great recipes. I can highly recommend the yoghurt panacotta recipe from this book.



Chocolate Custard Tarts
(adapted from bills open kitchen)

3 egg yolks
55gm caster sugar
2 tbspn (8 tspn) cornflour
1 tspn vanilla extract
185ml cream
150gm dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sheets puff pastry

Whisk together the yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla. Add the cream and 125ml water. Pour into a saucepan.

Stir over a medium heat until the mix is thick. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted, leave to cool.

Layer the two sheets of puff pastry one on top of the other. Roll up like a swiss roll. Cut into 1 1/2 cm sections. Lay the rounds flat and roll out into discs.

Lightly grease a muffin tin and gently push a round of pastry into each hole. Chill in the freezer for about ten minutes. Divide the custard mixture evenly between the shells.

Bake in a 220C oven for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Remove and leave to cool.

White Chocolate and Raspberry

Replace the 125ml of water with 125ml of raspberry puree. Replace the dark chocolate with white chocolate. Add a whole raspberry or two to the tarts just before you pop them in the oven .