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I am obsessed with these mini chocolate tarts at the moment – crisp pastry filled with silky chocolate ganache, layered with caramel, and a cloud of meringue. Unlike a single large tart, individual chocolate tarts are versatile: perfect for dinner parties, celebrations, or just for a little bit of baking at home.
In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make chocolate tarts with buttery shortcrust pastry, a gooey salted caramel layer, and glossy dark chocolate ganache, with the option to finish with torched Swiss meringue. Along the way, you’ll find troubleshooting tips, make-ahead instructions, flavour variations, and a printable recipe card so your chocolate tarts turn out bakery-worthy every time.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- This recipe makes a homemade buttery shortcrust pastry. It’s crisp yet tender, the ideal case for rich fillings.
- The caramel filling balances the rich dark chocolate ganache.
- It’s finished with an optional Swiss meringue topping – light, golden and crisp from the blow torching.
- The recipe can be simplified with tinned caramel, pre-made pastry cases and skipping the meringue topping.
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Cold unsalted butter – important for it to be cold to make the pastry, as the cold butter creates the flakiness as it gets layered with the other ingredients in the dough. When the cold butter melts as it bakes, it creates steam between layers of dough, causing the pastry to puff up and separate, making it flaky.
Double cream – known as heavy cream in the US.
Plain flour – also known as ‘all-purpose flour’ in the US.
Egg whites – this is for the optional meringue topping. You need 160g, which will likely be around 4 large eggs.
Substitutions and Variations:
Shop bought pastry case – skip the homemade pastry and buy shop-bought pastry cases. They are pretty good these days – try to find a good-quality version made with butter.
Homemade caramel – I used a tin of Carnation caramel for ease, but if you want to make your own caramel, you can do and the recipe is in the notes in the recipe card. Scroll to the bottom for this.
Skip the meringue – for ease, you can skip the torched meringue topping and just keep it caramel and chocolate. I like to finish with a sprinkle of flakey salt in this case.
Chocolate orange – add 1 tsp of fresh orange zest to the chocolate ganache for the chocolate orange twist.
Nuts – scatter over some chopped roasted peanuts, walnuts or pecans for a crunchy topping. This would also be good scattered over the chocolate ganache, without the meringue.
Fruity twist – swap the caramel filling for a fruit jam of your choice, such as raspberry, strawberry or blueberry jam.
Here’s how to make mini chocolate tarts:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
Step 1: Make the dough
ONE: Place the flour, salt, sugar and butter into the food processor.
TWO: Pulse until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs.
THREE: Add the egg, followed by 1 tbsp milk. Pulse again until a dough starts to come together (if you squish it with your fingers you should be able to roll it into a ball). If it seems a little crumbly and dry, gradually add the remaining milk and pulse again.
FOUR: Place a piece of greaseproof paper onto your work surface and tip the pastry dough on top. Bring the pastry together into a ball.
FIVE: Wrap in the greaseproof paper and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
SIX: Preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC Fan/375ºF and set out your trays. Remove the pastry from the fridge and lay another large sheet of greaseproof on the top. Using a rolling pin, roll out to about 0.5 cm thick.
SEVEN: Using a lightly floured cutter or a glass about 2 cm larger than your chosen tin holes, stamp out rounds.
EIGHT: Place them over the mounds of the tin, pushing gently around the shape so they sit tight around the edges. Pop in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Step 2: make the ganache & assemble chocolate tarts
NINE: Finely chop the chocolate. Gently heat the double cream, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Keep an eye on it as it can boil over easily.
TEN: Add the chocolate to a large, heatproof bowl and once the cream is simmering, pour it over the chocolate. Add a pinch of salt and give it a minute to melt slightly before using a whisk to mix everything together until smooth.
ELEVEN: Lay the pastry cases in front of you. Add a dollop of caramel to each one, about ⅓ to ½ way up the case.
TWELVE: Then top with the chocolate ganache. Transfer to the fridge to set the ganache.
Step 3: make the Swiss meringue topping (optional)
THIRTEEN: Place sugar and egg whites into a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of barely simmering water. With a manual whisk, whisk until all the sugar is dissolved and you can no longer see or feel any small grains of sugar.
FOURTEEN: Once the sugar is dissolved, place this mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
FIFTEEN: Whisk until you get a thick and stiff meringue, about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, a handheld electric whisk will work.
SIXTEEN: Then pipe the meringue on to the tarts. Use a blowtorch to lightly brown the meringue. An extra hot grill also works, just make sure it is ripping hot and place the tarts under the grill for as little time as possible – maybe 1 minute.
Cooking Tips:
Pastry shrank – it could be that your dough wasn’t rested or chilled enough. Make sure you have chilled for at least 30 minutes but it can sit for longer too. If you prefer working with puff pastry, try my Nutella puff pastry star or chocolate pull-apart Christmas tree.
Ganache split or grainy – Warm with a splash of hot cream or boiling water, tthen whisk and it should come back together.
Chill the chocolate ganache first – If adding Swiss meringue, make sure the chocolate tarts are chilled first. This prevents the topping from sliding and helps it hold its shape when torched.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ganache can split if the cream is too hot or the chocolate is too cold. Rescue it by whisking in a splash of warm cream or boiling water until it comes back together.
Rest and chill the dough before baking as is in the recipe, don’t skip this! Also try to avoid stretching the pastry when forming it to the shape of the tin.
To make ahead:
Pastry cases – the shortcrust pastry can be made up to 3 days in advance and chilled, well-wrapped, in the fridge. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before rolling. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost completely in the fridge before using.
You can freeze baked pastry cases too for up to 3 months, well wrapped in plastic wrap and then in an airtight container.
Chocolate ganache – can be made 5 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Bring to room temperature when you want to use it or you can warm it over a bain marie if it’s a cold day.
Meringue topping – best made fresh as if you let it sit, it can lose its airiness or start separating and weeping.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
If you like these chocolate tarts, try my moist chocolate fudge cake or my chocolate chip cookies with brown butter. For more tarts, my zesty lemon meringue tart or my mini jam tartlets are delicious.
Easy Baking Recipes
Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Brownies
Easy Baking Recipes
Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Easy Baking Recipes
Chocolate Mud Cake with Malted Whipped Cream
Easy Baking Recipes
Matilda’s Chocolate Cake
If you tried these Chocolate Tarts or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Mini Chocolate Tarts with Toasted Meringue Topping
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 225 g plain flour, 1 ½ cups
- ¼ tsp salt
- 50 g caster sugar, ¼ cup
- 115 g cold unsalted butter, cubed (½ cup)
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 tbsp whole milk, you may need more
For the caramel filling (see notes for homemade option):
- 1 x 397g tin caramel, e.g. Carnation or Dulce de Leche
For the ganache:
- 300 ml double cream
- 2 level tablespoons caster sugar
- 90 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 400 g quality dark chocolate, 70%, broken up
For the optional torched Swiss meringue:
- 300 g caster sugar
- 160 g egg whites
Instructions
For the dough:
- I always make my pastry in the food processor as it is so much quicker and easier. You can, of course, do it by hand if you prefer. Place the flour, salt, sugar and butter into the food processor. Pulse until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg, followed by 1 tbsp milk. Pulse again until a dough starts to come together (if you squish it with your fingers you should be able to roll it into a ball). If it seems a little crumbly and dry, gradually add the remaining milk and pulse again. Try not to add too much liquid – the more liquid in the dough, the more it will shrink.
- Place a piece of greaseproof paper onto your work surface and tip the pastry dough on top – I prefer to do this instead of adding flour as too much flour can change the texture. Bring the pastry together into a ball, wrap in the greaseproof paper and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes (you can do this up to 3 days in advance).
- When ready to make your chocolate tarts, preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC Fan/375ºF and set out your mini tartlet trays. I like to use the tins upside down and lay the pastry over the top of the mounds of the tin. I find it lifts off easier. Lightly grease the outside mounds of the tin with softened butter if not silicone or non-stick.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge (if it’s been in the fridge longer than 30 minutes, you might need to leave it to warm up for 15 minutes or so before you can roll it) and lay another large sheet of greaseproof on the top. Using a rolling pin, roll out to about 0.5 cm thick.
- Using a lightly floured cutter or a glass about 2 cm larger than your chosen tin holes, stamp out rounds. Place them over the mounds of the tin, pushing gently around the shape so they sit tight around the edges (don’t worry too much about them looking perfect, they are supposed to be rustic).
- Repeat until you have used up all the pastry, re rolling as necessary. If you are doing them in batches, just cover and chill the dough in the fridge until needed.
- Pop in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
For the ganache:
- Finely chop the chocolate. Gently heat the double cream, sugar and butter in a saucepan. Keep an eye on it as it can boil over easily.
- Add the chocolate to a large, heatproof bowl and once the cream is simmering, pour it over the chocolate. Add a pinch of salt and give it a minute to melt slightly before using a whisk to mix everything together until smooth.
For the optional swiss meringue topping:
- Place sugar and egg whites into a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of barely simmering water.
- With a manual whisk, whisk until all the sugar is dissolved and you can no longer see or feel any small grains of sugar.
- Once the sugar is dissolved, place this mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until you get a thick and stiff meringue, about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a stand mixer, a handheld electric whisk will work.
- Transfer to a piping bag (or sandwich bag with the corner cut off) and set aside to assemble.
To assemble:
- Lay the pastry cases in front of you. Add a dollop of caramel to each one, about ⅓ to ½ way up the case. Then top with the chocolate ganache. Transfer to the fridge to set the ganache. Don’t worry about the ganache being too smooth as you will also top with meringue.
- Then pipe the meringue on to the tarts. Use a blowtorch to lightly brown the meringue. An extra hot grill also works, just make sure it is ripping hot and place the tarts under the grill for as little time as possible – maybe 1 minute.
- You could also skip the browning if you don’t have a blow torch and serve as they are. If you don’t want to make the meringue, these are delicious just with caramel and chocolate – I like to top with a sprinkle of flakey salt.
- The video below will help with this recipe.
Video
Notes
- 200 g caster sugar
- 90 g unsalted butter, diced (at room temperature)
- 110 ml double cream, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt, or to taste
- Add the sugar to a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan and place over a medium heat. Stir occasionally at first, then just swirl the pan to ensure it melts evenly (otherwise it will start clumping).
- Once the sugar has melted, continue to bubble over a medium heat until it turns a gorgeous amber colour – watch closely (this will only take 1 minute or so) as you don’t want it to burn and become bitter.
- Remove from the heat and quickly add the butter. Whisk for about 30 seconds until completely smooth. Pour in the double cream and whisk again until smooth and glossy. Finally, whisk in the vanilla extract and salt. Pour into a jug.
- If making ahead of time, leave to cool completely before covering and chilling in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the microwave or on the hob.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Cannot get enough of these mini chocolate tarts. They are filled with chocolate ganache, a bite of caramel and an optional meringue topping, which makes them look so cute to serve to friends and family.