Valentine's Day Chocolate Tarts: 30-Min Recipe (original) (raw)

Home Chef Inderpreet Nagpal's tarts are designed for romantic dinners. They take hardly 30 minutes to make, but the short crust pastry dough and the chocolate filling need extra chilling time.

Pic: Chef Inderpreet Nagpal for Rediff.com

Ingredients

Short crust pastry for the tarts:

• 250 gm maida or all-purpose flour
• 125 gm butter, chilled, cubed
• Chilled water
• Pinch salt

Pic: Kind courtesy Stephanie from Austin/Wikimedia Commons

Ingredients, continued

For the chocolate filling:

• 150 gm cooking chocolate
• 50 gm cream
• 2 tbsp orange juice

Pic: Kind courtesy Dani Lurie/Wikimedia Commons

Method

For the short crust pastry:

• Mix the flour, butter, salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  Add a little chilled water into the food processor till mixture begins to form large clumps and stop before mixture forms a ball.

Pic: Kind courtesy Romain Behar/Wikimedia Commons

Method, continued

• Turn the pastry dough out onto a work surface and knead gently to bring together.
  Form into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap.
  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Pic: Kind courtesy Andrea Pavanello/Wikimedia Commons

Method, continued

For the filling:

• In an ovenproof bowl, melt the chocolate with the cream in the microwave for a minute.
  Mix the chocolate and cream gently, add the orange juice and fill in a pastry bag.
• Refrigerate.

Pic: Kind courtesy Rhett Sutphin/Wikimedia Commons

Method, continued

• Roll out the pastry dough.
  Cut into small 2-inch diameter circles and put each into baking moulds.
• Bake in the microwave oven at 180°C till they turn golden; about 12-15 minutes.
  Cool.
• Pipe the chocolate into the tarts and serve.

Pic: Kind courtesy Tammy Green/Wikimedia Commons

Tips
You can decorate the tarts in many ways.
Garnish with orange slices and shavings/sticks of orange rind.
Or decorate with blueberries, strawberries, edible flowers.
Otherwise add sprinkles.
Alternately dust with icing sugar or powdered coconut.

Pic: Kind courtesy Shisma/Wikimedia Commons

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