CHOCOLATE & RASPBERRY TARTS

This month’s Classic French challenge over on Blue Kitchen Bakes  is chocolate ganache.  I always find this incredibly rich so this time I decided to add a bit of raspberry sauce to the bottom of each tart to counteract the richness.  I thickened my normal raspberry sauce with a touch of cornflour to stop it running out once we cut into the tarts and it worked well.  There is nothing difficult about making the ganache and it is really quick to prepare.  The only time consuming process to these delicious tarts is making your own pastry but if you are short of time then a good quality store bought pastry would speed the process up giving you an elegant and decadent dessert in just over half an hour. 

 

CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY TARTS

 

For the printable version - click here

Prep time: 2 hours, including resting time for pastry shells

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 2hrs, 25 mins

 

Yield: 6 individual tarts

 

 

Ingredients

• Sweet shortcrust pastry
• 150ml double cream
• 190g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 300g raspberries
• 2 tblsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

 

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.
2. Make up one batch of sweet shortcrust pastry and prepare 6 small individual tart cases.
3. Bake blind for 15 mins. Remove paper and baking beans and return to oven for a further 5 - 10 mins to dry out.
4. To prepare raspberry coulis, puree raspberries (leave some back for decoration), icing sugar and lemon juice using a stick blender.
5. Pour through a sieve to remove all seeds.
6. If you prefer the raspberry sauce to be slightly thicker you can mix 1 tsp of cornflour with some of the puree. Heat remaining puree in a saucepan and then stir in the cornflour mixture and stir until thickened.
7. Set to one side.
8. To make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream in a saucepan until just boiling.
9. Add the chopped chocolate and stir with a spatula until fully melted and smooth.
10. Remove from heat and leave for 5 mins to cool slightly.
11. To assemble tarts, spoon some raspberry coulis into the bottom of each pastry shell.
12. Fill the shells with chocolate ganache ensuring a nice smooth finish on top.
13. Decorate with whole raspberries.
14. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe by Angela Darroch 

    

RASPBERRY SORBET

Don't you just ♥ summer?  The trips to the beach, spontaneous picnics in the park, sun downers on the patio as you watch the kids play in the garden till late at night.  Well, here we are at last - it's July and it's summer!!  Or is it? As I look out the kitchen window the skies are grey, the rain has been relentlessly beating down on my windows for days now with no sign of disappearing.  In fact we have severe flood warnings throughout the country for this weekend. The long term forecast is no better - rain, rain, rain.  The kids are due to break up for their (very) long summer holidays - HELP!!   Well, I am going to think positive, sunny thoughts and just maybe the weather forecasters have got it wrong and our long overdue summer is just round the corner.  I am going to fill my freezer with lots of light summery dishes and of course the obligatory ice creams and sorbets for the kids.  I made a start today with this very summery raspberry sorbet which is so refreshing and delicious.  Go on make it and dream of summer or if you are lucky enough to be living somewhere where the sun is shining make it and cool down after a long hot day.

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: n/a

Total time: 15 mins plus 30 mins churning time

Yield: 6

For the printable version - click here

Ingredients

• 150 g caster sugar
• 200 ml water
• 500 g raspberries
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 egg white

Cooking Directions

1. Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Pour the syrup into a bowl, leave to cool and then chill.
3. Puree the fruits in a food processor or blender, then press through a sieve into a large bowl.
4. Stir in the syrup and lemon juice.
5. If you have an ice cream maker - churn until thick, then add the lightly whisked egg white.
6. Continue to churn until firm enough to scoop.         

If you are making by hand - pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze for 4 hours until mushy. 

 Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth, then return to the container.

   Lightly whisk the egg white and stir into the mixture.      

   Freeze for another 4 hours.

Written by : Angela Darroch