Small Chocolate Tarts

Recipes featured in Sean Armstrong’s Kitchen: Modern food to cook at home by Sean Armstrong, published by Random House.

These chocolate tarts are a real winner during the raspberry season. They are so easy to make and your guests will be blown away by them – they are worth the little time it takes to put them together.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 50g sugar
• 300g best quality chocolate
• 200g unsalted butter
• 4 x small (6-8cm) sweet pastry tart shells, baked blind
• fresh raspberries
• icing sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double-boiler on medium heat and whisk continuously to combine. (It’s important not to stop whisking or the egg will cook to the sides and make the mixture, called a sabayon, lumpy). Continue whisking until the sabayon thickens and you can draw a figure 8 in it that holds its shape. Set aside.

Put the chocolate and butter in a clean bowl in the top of the double-boiler on medium heat. Stir occasionally until both have melted and fully combined. Pour the chocolate mixture into the sabayon and fold together. Pour the mixture into the prepared tart shells. Bake for 8-10 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and set aside (but not in the refrigerator) to cool.

To serve, arrange fresh raspberries on top of the tarts, dust with icing sugar and serve at room temperature.

John Hawkesby’s wine suggestion

Methode Traditionelle
Arcadia N.V. Brut
Quartz Reef N.V.