2½ hours | 8 tarts (or 1 big one) | dessert
If you love raspberries with chocolate, try these tarts featuring a crunchy chocolate crust filled with vanilla bean-flecked pastry cream and topped with whole raspberries and chocolate curls. Make one large tart using a 10-inch pan with a removable bottom if you don't have individual tart pans.
Chocolate Cookie Tart Shells, Part 1
PLACE butter into bowl and mix it with the sugar until smooth and light in color
Add then the egg and vanilla and beat again to combine
LEAVE butter mixture in place
PLACE all-purpose flour into a separate medium bowl with cocoa powder and salt and whisk the flour mixture until combined.
ADD ½ of flour mixture to butter mixture and mix it to combine.
ADD remaining flour mixture to butter mixture to combine
FORM dough into a disk and wrap dough with plastic wrap.
CHILL dough in refrigerator at least 1 hour WHILE making pastry cream.
Cream Cheese Pastry Cream
PLACE 250ml milk into a medium saucepan and add 3 table spoons sugar and vanialla bean (if using)
SIMMER over medium heat until just beginning to steam.
SET ASIDE hot milk mixture.
PLACE cornstarch into a medium bowl and add 3 tablespoons sugar.
WHISK cornstarch mixture until thoroughly combined.
ADD egg yolks and whisk again
ADD remaining cold milk and whisk again until egg yolk mixture is smooth.
ADD 1/4 hot milk mixture to egg yolk mixture WHILE WHISKING constantly.
ADD another 1/4 hot milk mixture to egg yolk mixture WHILE WHISKING constantly.
WHISK egg yolk mixture into remaining hot milk mixture.
BRING milk mixture to a boil WHILE STIRRING constantly.
BOIL 1-4 minutes, or until thickened WHILE STIRRING constantly.
REMOVE pastry cream from heat and add cream cheese and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 tsp vanilla extract if not using vanilla bean in previous step)
WHISK until smooth.
STRAIN pastry cream through a mesh strainer into a medium bowl.
PRESS plastic wrap directly onto surface of pastry cream.
REFRIGERATE pastry cream WHILE CONTINUING with chocolate cookie tart shells.
Chocolate Cookie Tart Shells, Part 2
SPRINKLE a work surface lightly with flour and roll out dough to a 10x20 inch rectangle
CUT out 8 dough circles about 10cm in diameter. You can use a plastic lid from a large yogurt or sour cream container as a guide.
PRESS dough circles into 8cm tart pans.
PRICK each tart shell all over with a fork.
FREEZE shells for 30 minutes.
PREHEAT oven to 160°C.
PRESS squares of aluminum foil directly onto surface of each tart shell.
FILL tart shells with dried beans, rice, or pie weights.
BAKE tart shells 15 minutes.
CAREFULLY REMOVE weights from tart shells and carefully remove the foil from tart shells
BAKE 5-10 minutes longer or until crusts are no longer shiny.
ALLOW tart shells to cool for 5 minutes.
REMOVE tart shells from pans.
SET ASIDE tart shells to cool completely.
Assembly
WHISK pastry cream until smooth.
SPOON pastry cream into tart shells.
SMOOTH surface of tarts with the back of a spoon.
TOP tarts with fresh raspberries.
GARNISH tarts chocolate curls or shavings.
SERVE immediately.
