Crumbly pastry tart filled with luscious dulce de leche and topped with decadent dark chocolate ganache, say bye-bye to the pies and casseroles this holiday season. This will be the winner at the dinner table!
Ingredients:
For the Pastry Dough:
113g all-purpose flour
15g cocoa powder
10g powdered sugar
75g unsalted cold cubed butter
1+ 1/2 tbsp. of cold water
For the chocolate ganache:
157g chopped dark chocolate
50g heavy cream
For the filling:
300ml your choice of canned dulce de leche
Tools:
Baking beans or baking weights
Wilton six cavity mini pie pan **If you don't have a mini pie pan, you can bake this in a 6inch tart pan, or use a muffin tin, either way, baking times will vary.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease your mini pie pan, with baking spray or butter and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl add the flour, cocoa powder, icing sugar and mix to combine.
To the dry ingredients add the cold cubed butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the consistency resembles bread crumbs. **You can also complete this step with a food processor or with a pastry cutter.
Once you reach the consistency of bread crumbs add the cold water and mix to combine. At this point, if you should be able to squeeze the pastry dough together and should hold its shape. If you find that it is still too crumbly, add 1 tsp. of cold water at a time, making sure you don't add too much water.
In your mixing bowl bring the pastry dough together and transfer it onto plastic wrap.
Shape the pastry dough into a short log if you are baking these in a pie or muffin pan, approx. 4 inches in length, and rest it in the refrigerator for 30 mins. ***If you are baking the tart in a 6inch tart pan, shape the pastry dough into a disk, this will make it easier to roll out later on.
In the meantime, in a small mixing bowl add the chopped dark chocolate and heavy cream, and warm at 30-second intervals in the microwave. Once the chocolate has completely melted, mix to combine and set aside.
Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator, and lightly flour your working surface.
Cut the log in half, then each half in 3 portions. ***If you are using a single tart pan you will want to skip this step and simply roll out the pastry dough to the circumference of your tart pan.
Now roll a portion of pastry dough a little bit larger than the circumference of a pie/ muffin cavity, and place into the cavity. Repeat this step until there are no more pastry dough portions remaining.
Now cut off any edges that are hanging over with a knife.
Once the edges are trimmed, cut out parchment paper big enough to cover each pastry shell (whether you're using a pie, muffin, or tart pan) we want to line all pastry shells and pour over the baking beans/weights to weight them down.
Once each pastry shell is lined and weighted down, pop the pastry shells into the oven for 15min to blind bake. ***Depending on the pan you decide to bake the tarts in the time will vary, just check every 7 mins.
Once the blind bake is completed, remove the baking beans and parchment paper and bake for another 7-10 mins or until the pastry shells have completely baked. ***Depending on the pan you decide to bake the tarts in the time will vary, just check every 7 mins.
Once baked, allow the pastry shells to completely cool in the baking pan.
Once cooled add the dulce de leche, approximately 2tbps. for each pastry shell if you are using a Wilton mini pie pan. *** If you are using a muffin tin, fill each cavity 3/4 of the way. If you are using a tart pan pour the entire 300ml of dulce de leche.
Once each pastry shell is filled place in the refrigerator and allow the dulce de leche to cool for 30 mins.
Once cooled, remove the pastry shells and add the dark chocolate ganache. Approximately 1 tbsp. for each pastry shell if you are using a Wilton mini pie pan. If needed you can warm your ganache at 10-second intervals if it has stiffened up. ***If you are using a muffin tin, you want to add enough to completely cover the dulce de leche layer. If you are using a tart pan, pour the entire dark chocolate ganache onto the dulce de leche layer.
Once the dark chocolate ganache is added, use the back of a spoon to even out the layer. Finish off the tarts with a sprinkle of salt, and any chopped nuts if you like.
Allow the ganache to cool in the refrigerator for 30 mins before serving and enjoy!
Addtional Notes:
These tarts can be made in a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container or plastic wrap.
If you prefer to serve the tarts with a snappy chocolate layer leave them in the refrigerator and remove them just before serving.
If you want the ganache to come up to room temperature for a more soft and creamy texture, remove the tarts 1 hour prior to serving, to allow the ganache to come to room temperature.
If you forget to remove the tarts from the fridge in time, you can warm them in the microwave at 5-second intervals. I doubt you will need more than 10-15 seconds at most. It is best to be cautious when warming these to prevent overheating the chocolate ganache and dulce de leche which may result in a gloopey mess.
Comments