From day one after I have purchased the Bills Open Kitchen Cookbook, I was drawn to these rusty looking Chocolate Custard Tarts. They are very similar to the Portuguese Custard Tarts but the dark chocolate has added richness and depth of flavour to the tarts.
These tarts are best eaten while they are still hot and fresh from the oven. It's like biting into a light buttery flaky pastry topped with warm chocolate mousse!
Chocolate Custard Tarts (Makes 18)
(Adapted from Bill Granger's Bills Open Kitchen)
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks
- 55 g (1/4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
- 185 ml (3/4 cup) cream
- 150 g (1 cup) dark chocolate, grated
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- icing (confectioners') sugar, for dusting
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220C (425F/Gas 7). Place the egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla into a bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the cream and 125 ml (1/2 cup) water and whisk again. Pour into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Stir until the mixture is thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Leave to cool.
- Place the sheets of puff pastry on top of each other and roll up. Cut into 1 cm (1/2 inch) wide slices and roll out into rounds 10 cm (4 inches) and diameter. Lightly grease a non-stick 6-hole and a 12-hole 125 ml (1/2 cup) muffin tin and push each round into the individual holes. Place in the freezer and chill for 10 minutes. Remove and divide the custard mixture evenly between the tart shells.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before removing. Dust with icing sugar and serve.