Double Chocolate Tartlets - Teatime in Paris

It's nice to be able to impress your friends and family with a dessert that looks like it was made by a pastry chef, but  I often feel those fancy French pastries are beyond my ability or available time.  I had heard that chocolate pastry was really difficult to work with and ganache seems like a tricky thing to make,  however nothing could be further from the truth as you can see from these Double Chocolate Tartlets.

It's all thanks to Jill Colonna, author of Mad about Macarons,  the book where she debunked the myth that macarons are difficult to make, (see The Great Macaron Challenge) this time she has taken on the challenge of making French Patisserie recipes accessible to all in her new book Teatime in Paris.


The book begins with some introductory chapters demystifying Parisian pastry, "How the French eat pastry and yet can stay slim" and a very useful chapter entitled "French Pastry a step at a time".  Jill then goes on to provide some notes on ingredients to help you make a success of your bakes. Then we get into the recipe chapters, each has a story sometimes a little history all of which makes this an entertaining read as well as a practical cook book.

Here are a few of the recipes that stood out for me by chapter:
Something for Teatime:  Honey, Rose and Green Tea Madeleines; Almond Tuiles and Speculoos Ice Cream.
Choux Time: A step by step guide to making choux pastry; Cream Puffs; Lemon and Verbena mini-Eclairs and Coffee Eclairs (omg)
French Tartlets: Caramel, Walnut and Maple Tartlets, Double Chocolate Tartlets (see below) and Fast Fig, Almond and Lavender Tart.
Millefeuilles; Mint and Strawberry Millefeuille and Wild Blackberry Millefeuille.
Parisian Macarons: Step by Step guide to making macarons; Salted Caramel Macarons; Raspberry, Lime and Tarragon "Maclairs" and Rhubarb and Poppy Macarons.
A French Tea Party:  Paris-Brest-Edinburgh Choux-Nut, Lime and Bitter Chocolate 'Maclair' Tartlets and St Honore with Violet.

Towards the end of the book a chapter called Favourite Sweet Walks in Paris  takes you on a guided walk around the "City of Light" pointing out some of the famous and best patisseries in Paris.

Finally there are a few suggestions for essential and luxury baking equipment.

Who is it for? Anyone who likes to bake and is looking for a little bit of a challenge, but likes the idea of a helping hand and simple instructions written not by a pastry chef but by a home baker like themselves.

Pros: A wide range of fancy pattiserie, cakes and dessert recipes are provided.  The step by step instructions with pictures are really clear and there are lots of extra tips from Jill.  I also like that you have the basis for creating your own variations on the recipe.

Cons: If you already have Mad about Macarons, then you already have the instructions on macaron making, although there are some new flavours to entice your palate.

The Verdict: Programmes like the Great British Bake off have brought pastries like Paris Brest, macarons and all manner of fancy tartlets into the British consciousness as something that can be made at home.  This book gives you the tools to create these yourself and, if my experience is anything to go by, Jill's recipes make them much easier than you would think.


Here is Jill's recipe for Tartelettes au Chocolat, and the story that goes with it:

Having visited Sacré-Coeur and dodged past the giant rolls of colourful fabrics at the bottom of Montmartre’s bustling hill, head to Rue des Martyrs to escape the summer crowds. The further south of Pigalle (SoPi) you walk towards the 9th district, the more tempting pastry and chocolate boutiques appear. One of my favourites is Sébastian Gaudard and just across the road is a little chocolate shop and yet more pastries at Arnaud Delmontel. The beauty of these chocolate tartlets is that the variations are endless. Serve them plain with a simple dusting of unsweetened Belgian cocoa powder, or spoon a tablespoon of jam on the bases before pouring on the ganache and topping with fruits.

Tartlettes au Chocolat/Double Chocolate Tartlets
Makes 8 tartlets
Preparation time: 25 minutes, Cooking time: 30 minutes, Chilling time: 1 hour 30 minutes, Temperature: 160°C/320°F fan (Gas 4)

Chocolate pastry cases:
125g butter, at room temperature
75g icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
½ tsp salt
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
240g plain flour all-purpose), sifted
20g unsweetened cocoa powder

Ganache filling: 
160g dark chocolate (at least 60% solids)
80g milk chocolate
230g single cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Using a stand mixer with a paddle beater, slowly mix the butter, sugar and salt until pale and creamy. Just for a few seconds, gradually add the other ingredients until the dough is well mixed, then stop. Form a ball, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Cut out eight tartlets. 
2. Bake the tartlets for 10–15 minutes at 160°C/320°F fan (Gas 4). Allow to cool, and remove from their moulds.
3. To make the ganache filling, break the chocolate into chunks in a bowl. Heat the cream with the vanilla extract in a saucepan until nearly boiling. Pour over half of the hot cream directly into the bowl of chocolate.
4. Stir using a wooden spoon and combine until the ganache is smooth. Top with the rest of the hot cream and stir until completely melted and silky.
5. Pour the hot ganache into each tartlet and top with a cherry, berries or keep plain. Leave to chill in the fridge for at least an hour to set. Take the tartlets out of the fridge 30 minutes before eating.

Variations:

• Infuse the seeds of 12 cardamom pods and a teaspoon of grated ginger in the cream while making the ganache and serve with a mango and passion fruit salad. 
• Why not spread the bases with thick cut marmalade and top with Cape gooseberries?

Teatime in Paris! A Walk Through Easy French Patisserie Recipes
Author: Jill Colonna
Published by Waverley Books, 7th May 2015
RRP £14.99

For recipes and more information about Jill Colonna's books visit the Mad about Macarons website


a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm entering the Double Chocolate Tartlets for three different challenges.

• A new blogging challenge, Perfecting Patisserie is just perfect for this recipe, it's being hosted by Lucy at Baking Queen 74 and Kevin at The Crafty Larder
• Treat Petite is featuring Eurovision treats this month and as this is French patisserie, it qualifies (douze points s'il vous plait). Treat Petite is the brain child of Stuart at Cakey Boi and Kat at The Baking Explorer.
• And finally, one of the first ever blogging challenges We Should Cocoa, the theme is always chocolate but this time with Vanilla, which this recipe contains. The 'We Should Cocoa' Linky's home is at Tin and Thyme, the blog of Choclette Cacao, but it's being hosted this month by Karen at Lavender and Lovage. 

Labels: chocolate, Cook book review, ganache, giveaway. win, Jill Colonna. Paris, pattiserie, Perfecting Patisserie, review, tart, tartlet, Teatime, Treat Petite, We should Cocoa

posted by Janice @ 07:00 39 Comments

Chocolate Mincemeat Tart

I like lots of mincemeat in my tarts and sometimes find that the small tarts tend towards an overload of pastry and not much mincemeat whereas a nice big tart means that it's mostly filling.  The mincemeat I used for the tart is Instant Chocolate Mincemeat, this is mincemeat that you can mix up quickly using any mixture of dried fruits  you have in your cupboard you can also add nuts, the chopped chocolate adds a lovely richness to the fruit mixture. Makes approximately 2 medium jars.


Chocolate Mincemeat Tart

for the mincemeat
Zest of a lemon
Juice of half a lemon

Labels: almonds, chocolate, dried fruit, Kitchencraft, mincemeat, OXO Good Grips, pastry, suet, tart

posted by Janice @ 07:00 25 Comments

Kellie's Tomato Tart - a last taste of summer

As soon as I saw the photograph pop up in Facebook I knew that I had to make this tomato tart.  If you haven't visited Food to Glow then you have a treat in store because Kellie makes beautiful food which is also very healthy.


Get the recipe here Tomato Tart with Seed and Nut Herb Crust




I'm adding this to Bookmarked Recipes the challenge to help you used those recipes you've saved, whether in books, magazines or online.

Labels: Bookmarked Recipes, Food to Glow, tart, tomato

posted by Janice @ 21:47 14 Comments

Kale, Pumpkin and Smoked Cheese Tart

The new spreadable product is the latest, exciting new product from Applewood to join the existing range. This versatile new spreadable is an ideal cheese for today’s modern lifestyle – you can spread some over bread, stir into a variety of recipes and share with friends by dunking into various snacks.



Kale and Pumpkin Tart with Applewood Spreadable

1 28cm/11in shortcrust pastry flan case, baked blind
1 small pumpkin, seeds and peel removed
3 tbsp oil
2 small onions, sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

30g butter
1 tbsp oil
150ml double cream
4 eggs
100g Applewood Spreadable
100g grated cheese (I used cheddar but if you have Applewood Smoked, that would be even better!)


1. Make the flan case according to the instructions on the Frequently Used Recipes page.


2. Cut the pumpkin into even sized chunks add, mix with 3 tbsp oil and roast for about 30-40 minutes until tinged with brown and tender, leave to cool.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil and 30g butter, gently fry the onions and garlic until soft and translucent, add the kale and stir for 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften, set aside to cool.




5. Mix together the Applewood Spreadable with a little cream to slacken it off, then add the rest of the cream.  Add the the eggs and beat into the cream mixture, season to taste and pour over the kale and pumpkin.  Top with the grated cheese.

6. Bake at 160C for 40 minutes until the egg is set and the cheese is golden and crispy.
Serve with leeks and peas cooked gently in butter and a little stock.

The soft sweet pumpkin went well with the texture of the kale and the smoky cheese flavour of the the Applewood Spreadable was the perfect compliment to both of them.  Although most of the ingredients in this tart are vegetarian, the Applewood Spreadable is NOT, so I would suggest that if you don't eat animal products, you choose to use Applewood Smoked Cheddar to get the smoky flavour in the tart.

I received samples of Applewood Spreadable Cheese and a hamper of food products to use in the competition, I have not been paid for this post and all opinions are my own.

Labels: Applewood Smoked Spreadable, cream, eggs, flan, Kale, Leeks, peas, pumpkin, tart

posted by Janice @ 20:43 5 Comments

A Salmon and Nettle Tart - Dish of the Month

As Nigel Slater says: "there is something deeply satisfying about taking a huge, golden tart to the table, a tart we have made ourselves. A tart we can give to others knowing it will give as much pleasure to them as making it did to us"  There is something even more satisfying in making a tart that includes foraged ingredients such as wild garlic and nettles, free food!


When I went to the freezer, I discovered I only had one salmon fillet left, so used a couple of haddock fillets to bulk out the tart, you would never have been able to tell.  I topped it with some of the Wild Garlic butter I made and froze last month.
I baked the fish in the oven for about 15 minutes and then left it to cool.
I'd read in The Foragers Kitchen that you could substitute young nettle tops for spinach, so I donned my rubber gloves and headed round into the back garden to collect some nettles.  Living on a farm means that the fields and hedgerows tend to invade the garden and while this is not great for gardening, it is rather handy for foraging!

Labels: Dish of the Month, flan, foraging, Nettles, Nigel Slater, quiche, salmon, tart

posted by Janice @ 11:57 7 Comments

Heartbroken Valentine - A Hotel Chocolat Review

"Open your HEART to me. Feel the rush of true love as our milk chocolate heart opens up to reveal the dreamy chocolates hidden inside" 

The subtle and chic charcoal box decorated with graceful white feathers, revealing beneath a glimpse of  pillar-box red base, hinting at the passionate contents...I raised the lid with great anticipation and -  sharp intake of breath - my heart was shattered in a thousand pieces (gross exaggeration, but it was pretty smashed up) I was so disappointed, indeed heartbroken.



You may have noticed that some of the the chocolate is missing, there certainly isn't enough there to make up the two halves of the heart.  In my heartbroken state there was only one thing I could do...EAT IT!   In my defence, you wouldn't have been able to see the cute little chocolate hearts in the photo if I hadn't:  Dark Mousse, Lemon Berry Tart, Strawberry Swoon and Caramel Praline.  My favourite would have to be Lemon Berry Tart, lovely tart lemon taste against the sweetness of the white chocolate, it was just divine.

The milk chocolate shell
The milk chocolate of the heart shell was okay, but not the best milk chocolate I've tasted, and given that this little baby costs £25 for 255g of chocolate, I think it's time Hotel Chocolat upped their game on the quality of their milk chocolate.  Generally I prefer dark chocolate and any Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate products I've reviewed in the past have been excellent.

About the breakage
I was genuinely very surprised to find this chocolate was broken. As I said, I've reviewed a few different chocolate products for Hotel Chocolat and never had any problems with breakages.  The box was well packaged and there were no obvious signs of the package having been damaged in any way.  However,  if I was disappointed when I opened the box and found the heart all broken, just think how unromantic it would be to receive a damaged gift for Valentine's Day.

Overall
I think this chocolate gift is overpriced, the milk chocolate shell does not make me swoon and although the heart shaped chocolates are very nice, you could find similar quality for a lower price or more chocolates for the same price.  If you do like Hotel Chocolat milk chocolate and are determined to 'give your heart' to your loved one,  I would suggest you buy it from the shop rather than online, ask to check that it is intact before leaving the shop, to be sure that your lover 'feels the rush of true love' and you don't end up with a broken heart on Valentine's Day. 

I was sent these chocolates for review, I was not paid to give a good review, my opinions are my own.

Labels: chocolate, Hotel Chocolat, Mousse, Praline, review, tart, Valentine's Day

posted by Janice @ 08:00 4 Comments

Turkey, Bacon and Brie Tart

It's always a pleasure to make new dishes from food left over from other meals.  Christmas is the greatest opportunity to be creative with leftovers and I am drawn to the tart, flan or quiche as a vehicle to use up those bits and pieces of delicious food.

Turkey, Bacon and Brie Tart

Serves 6 

1 quantity of shortcrust pastry, baked blind in a flan tin.
1 small onion, finely chopped
100g streaky bacon, chopped
Approx. 200-300g cold cooked turkey
250ml double cream
3 large eggs
100g ripe Brie
25g Parmesan, grated
zest of half a lemon
salt & freshly ground pepper

Heat the oven to 170C

1. Gently saute the onion in a little butter, add the bacon pieces and cook until golden, leave to cool.
2. Spread the onion and bacon in the base of the flan, chop the turkey into generously sized pieces and scatter over the onion and bacon.
3. Break off pieces of Brie and distribute evenly across the flan base.
4. Whisk the eggs, add the cream, lemon zest, seasoning and grated Parmesan, pour into the flan case.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the filling is golden brown and just set in the centre.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

This is a very rich tart and only needs a green vegetable or salad to make a meal. 

What did you do with your leftovers?

Labels: bacon, Brie, cream, flan, leftovers, quiche, shortcrust pastry, tart, Turkey

posted by Janice @ 08:00 8 Comments

Pear and Blackberry Frangipane Tart

It was a rather wet start on Sunday, but when it dried up after lunch, I went out and noticed that there were a lot of 'brambles' which were ripe.  I started to pick them, but once my hands were full, had to come back to the house for a bowl!

I put most of the blackberries in the freezer but decided to keep some back to make a dessert.

Pear and Blackberry Frangipane Tart

1 traybake tin  approx 30 x 23 x 4cm (12" x 9" x 1 ½")
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
3 tbsp raspberry jam
1 or 2 poached pears, quartered
100g blackberries (or a couple of handfuls)

for the Frangipane
55g butter
55g caster sugar
40g ground almonds
1 large egg
15g plain flour

1. Heat the oven to 180C/170C fan oven
2. Line the tin with the pastry and trim to fit
3. Spread the raspberry jam on the base of the pastry
4. Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, beat together the frangipane ingredients
5. Add peached pears and sprinkle over the blackberries, push them down into the frangipane mix.
6. Bake at 170C for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

I served the tart warm with icecream, but you can also eat it cold.  If I was going to make this again I would make shortcrust pastry for the base as the puff pastry wasn't so good underneath especially when cold.


I had some company when I was out picking brambles, the horses in the next door field were very interested in what I was doing!

Labels: blackberries, dessert, frangipane, ground almonds, Pears, puff pastry, tart

posted by Janice @ 20:49 12 Comments

Roasted Butternut Squash and Tomato Tart - Herbs on Saturday

I'm not quite sure what I did before I discovered Butternut Squash.  It has to be the most versatile of vegetables, that sweet, firm flesh goes so well with so many different flavours.  I combined the squash with tomatoes, bacon and basil in this tart with a single small courgette from my garden which needed to be used up.  As I am trying to cut back on calories, I used 0% Greek yogurt in the custard mix and it worked really well.  I had very positive comments from the family about this tart.  Vegetarians can just leave out the bacon with very little detriment to the texture and flavour.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Tomato Tart

1 quantity of shortcrust pastry  baked blind

1 Butternut Squash
8 small vine tomatoes, halved
1 courgette, sliced
8 rashers of streaky bacon
1 tbsp olive oil
200g 0% fat Greek Yogurt
3 large free range eggs
salt & freshly ground pepper
8 fresh basil leaves

1. Peel squash and deseed.  Cut into even sized pieces and put into a roasting tin.
2. Cut tomatoes in half and slice the courgette, place in roasting tin with squash.
3. Pour over the oil and mix through the vegetables, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt
4. Roast in an oven 200C for 30 minutes until the butternut squash is soft and slightly caramelised round the edges.
5.  Chop the streaky bacon into pieces and spread over the vegetables, roast for a further 10 minutes until crisp.


6. Place the vegetables and bacon into the pastry case.
7. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and stir in the 0% Greek yogurt, season with salt and pepper.
8. Pour the mixture over the vegetables.
9. Tear up the basil leaves and spread them evenly across the tart, push them down into the egg mixture.

10. Bake at 180C for 30 - 35 minutes until the egg mixture is set.

 I'm entering this tart for Herbs on Saturday run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage.

Labels: 0% Greek Yogurt, butternut squash, Herbs on Saturday, Lavender and Lovage, quiche, roasted tomatoes, tart

posted by Janice @ 08:51 19 Comments

Roasted Courgette, Tomato, Feta and Basil Tart

There was a bit of joking on Twitter the other night about how we should make one recipe that covered all the blog challenges, then we could have the rest of the month off!  I haven't managed to cover quite all the blog challenges with this post but it ticked off quite a few.

My courgette/zucchini plant has sucked up all the rain and produced some huge fruits, so although I had planned to make the Pea, bean and bacon tart from the July issue of BBC Good Food, I decided to adapt it to use the courgettes, hmmm maybe I could use some tomatoes too, oh and that half block of Feta cheese, so no need for the bacon and I'll make my own pasty instead of using frozen shortcrust like in the recipe...not much of the recipe left to be honest!

Roasted Courgette Tomato, Feta and Basil Tart

1 quantity of butter shortcrust pastry blind baked in a flan case (click through to the link for full recipe)

For the roasted vegetables
2 large or three medium courgettes/zucchini
8 small tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oven to 200C, slice or dice the courgettes into even sized chunks, halve the tomatoes.  Place the vegetables in a roasting dish and coat with the oil.  Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until starting to blacken round the edges. Remove from oven and drain the juices into a bowl.

For the filling
100g Feta cheese, cubed
300ml double cream
4 large eggs
juices from the roasted vegetables
6-8 basil leaves
freshly ground pepper




Place the roasted vegetables into the baked tart case, top with the cubed feta and torn basil leaves.  Season with freshly ground pepper.
Beat the cream and eggs together and stir in the saved juices from the roasted vegetables. Pour over the vegetables and cheese and bake at 160C for 35 minutes until set and golden.

Roasting the veg means that the pastry doesn't go soggy and it makes a nice firm filling, very tasty indeed.

I'm entering this tart for One Ingredient, the July ingredient is 'The Tomato' and it is being hosted this month by Jacqueline at How to Cook Good Food who shares this challenge with Working London Mummy


 And..Veggie/Fruit a Month which is featuring the Zucchini for July and is being hosted this month by Cook's Joy



It is also Simple and in Season another challenge run by Jacqueline at How to Cook Good Food in patnership with Ren at Fabulicious Food



Okay, so far three challenges busted with one dish, now to the salad I served with the tart

Giant Couscous, Butternut and Walnut Salad

I've been reading about Giant Couscous, so when I saw a bag at the farm shop last week, I popped it in my basket.  Also in GoodFood July issue was this recipe which was perfect to try out the giant couscous.  This time I stuck to the recipe!


I hope the recipe will go onto the website soon and I can link back, but it is basically roasted dice of butternut squash which have been sprinkled with chilli powder (I roasted them in a separate dish but at the same time as the courgettes and tomatoes).  You cook the couscous for five minutes, then mix through the roasted squash and the oil it has been roasted in and add walnut pieces, the seeds and juice of half a pomegranate and juice of half a lemon with a handful of chopped mint.

What a lovely salad it was, the squash pieces were quite hot as I probably used more chilli than I should and used chilli flakes rather than powder!  However, as the couscous is bland if you ate it altogether, the heat was about right.  I loved the fresh juiciness of the pomegranate seeds, the green bite of the mint and earthy crunch of the walnuts.   I would definitely make this again.

And this recipe is for Bookmarked Recipes one of the challenges run by Jac at Tinned Tomatoes from an idea by Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments founder of the challenge.

Labels: basil, Bookmarked Recipes, butternut squash, courgettes, feta cheese, flan, Giant couscous, One Ingredient, pomegranate, quiche, roasted vegetables, salad, Simple and in Season, tart, tomatoes, vegetarian

posted by Janice @ 20:19 11 Comments