Mini Chocolate Tarts with Toasted Meringue Topping

chocolate tarts with meringue topping on a plate.

5 from 1 vote

Mini Chocolate Tarts with Toasted Meringue Topping

The ultimate guide to making glossy, bakery-style chocolate tarts with buttery pastry, rich chocolate ganache, gooey salted caramel and optional torched Swiss meringue.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Chilling Time30

Total Time1 15

Course: Baking

Cuisine: British

Servings: mini tarts

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

This recipe makes 12 large muffin-sized tarts, 24 cupcake-sized tarts or 42 mini tartlets.

Scroll up for a step by step guide with images on how to make chocolate tarts.

To store: 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. The 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. The assembled tarts should be eaten within 2 days due to the meringue topping. Make the meringue fresh as storing it can mean it loses its airiness.

To freeze: the shortcrust pastry can be well-wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost completely in the fridge before using. I wouldn't bake the assembled chocolate tarts.

Homemade caramel:

Using tinned/jarred caramel is perfect here, and it's what I usually do but if you want to make your own, here's how:

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.

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