These mini chocolate tarts are made with a buttery shortcrust pastry and filled with a silky smooth and rich chocolate ganache.
These mini tarts are perfect for hosting, parties, holidays, or a delicious dessert! They have a crispy shell that holds the decadent chocolate ganache filling and are topped with nuts, whipped cream, or fresh fruit.
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Why this recipe works
- These are perfect for chocolate lovers!
- They are a perfect serving size for one or two people!
- These are made with a delicious buttery chocolate shortbread crust.
- These mini tarts are filled with a delicious chocolate ganache filling!
- These are surprisingly easy to make and are so delicious!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this chocolate tartlets recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
For the chocolate shortbread crust
Dutch process cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch process cocoa powder for our brownies because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Eggs- you will need 1 egg for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Kosher salt- you will need about ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this delicious crust.
Make sure that your butter is cold.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
For the chocolate ganache
Chocolate- use the best quality semisweet or dark chocolate bars for the best flavor. using the best quality dark chocolate is very important in this recipe.
Heavy cream- use full-fat heavy cream for this recipe. This cant is substituted.
Instructions
Make the crust
Start by making the tart dough. In a food processor, add the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt, and mix until combined.
Add the cold cubed butter, and blend until there are pea-sized pieces of butter. If you dont have a food processor, you can do it by hand, mixing the cold butter into the flour mixture. Make sure that your hands are cold.
Then, add the egg, and the vanilla extract and mix until a dough forms. Try not to overmix the dough.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Transfer the dough onto a clean floured surface and roll it with a rolling pin into a rectangle using a cookie cutter or a round bowl (1 inch larger than the mini tart pans) and cut small rounds of the pastry.
Place the pastry inside the mini tart pan and press it down using your clean hands. Cut off the extra edges. Make holes in the bottom of the pan with a fork and place them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.
Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool while making the filling.
Make the chocolate ganache
Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for 30-second pulses or in a bain marie.
Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
Pour the chocolate ganache into the cooled tart shells until almost full. Carefully transfer to the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.
Expert Tips
- Use COLD butter for the crust, we suggest cutting the butter into cubes and then placing it in the fridge, so when you are ready to use it, it will be very cold.
- Let the pastry dough rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before handling it. This makes sure that the pastry doesn't rise quickly while baking.
- If the crust puffs a bit while baking, press it down using a cup.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture.
- Use an easy-release tartlets pan. We use an easy-release tartlets pan for all of our tart recipes. This makes sure that your tart will be easy to release from the pan.
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Faq's
We use all-purpose flour for this tart. Cake flour or pastry flour will work great as well.
These tarts will last for up to 5 days stored in the fridge in an airtight container, or in the freezer for up to 2 months stored in an airtight freezer-friendly container.
Yes. You can make these with store-bought pastry shells. Simply skip the process of making the crust.
Storing
Store these mini tarts in the fridge because they contain dairy. Cover them with plastic wrap or foil to prevent the fridge smells soak into them.
Freezing
These are perfect for freezing! Simply cover them with a plastic wrap tightly (a few layers) and transfer them into an airtight freezer-friendly container and freeze it for up to 2 months.
To thaw, place it in the fridge overnight.
Substitutions
Crust- make a no-bake crust instead of a baked shortcrust one. You can use the recipe from my oreo tart recipe.
Ganache- you can fill these tarts with a milk chocolate ganache instead of a regular ganache for milk chocolate lovers!
Gluten-free- make these gluten-free by replacing the flour with gluten-free flour or make your favorite gluten-free crust.
Dairy-free- make this dairy-free by replacing the heavy cream with vegan heavy cream, or coconut cream, or make your favorite dairy-free chocolate ganache recipe!
Variations
Toppings- top these with freshly made whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, fresh berries, or chopped toasted nuts like we do!
More tart recipes
Oreo tart- This oreo tart is made with an oreo tart crust, topped with an incredibly creamy chocolate filling, topped with whipped cream, and oreo chunks.
Nutella tart- This Nutella tart is made with an easy hazelnut tart crust, filled with a decadent and creamy Nutella filling, and topped with chopped toasted hazelnuts.
Lemon tart- This lemon tart is made with a buttery pastry crust and filled with a zesty lemon curd filling. This tart is a ray of sunshine in a dessert!
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📖 Recipe
Best Mini Chocolate Tarts
Ingredients
Make the chocolate shortcrust pastry
- 2 cups Flour
- ¼ cups Cocoa powder
- ½ cups Powder sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 115 g Butter Cold
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Make the chocolate ganache
- 300 g Dark chocolate
- 300 g Heavy cream
Instructions
Make the crust
- Start by making the tart dough. In a food processor, add the flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt, and mix until combined.
- Add the cold cubed butter, and blend until there are pea-sized pieces of butter. If you dont have a food processor, you can do it by hand, mixing the cold butter into the flour mixture. Make sure that your hands are cold.
- Then, add the egg, and the vanilla extract and mix until a dough forms. Try not to overmix the dough.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Transfer the dough onto a clean floured surface and roll it with a rolling pin into a rectangle using a cookie cutter or a round bowl (1 inch larger than the mini tart pans) and cut small rounds of the pastry.
- Place the pastry inside the mini tart pan and press it down using your clean hands. Cut off the extra edges. Make holes in the bottom of the pan with a fork and place them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.
- Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool while making the filling.
Make the chocolate ganache
- Melt dark chocolate and heavy cream in a small to medium mixing bowl in the microwave for 30-second pulses or in a bain marie.
- Let the chocolate and the cream sit for 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt, then mix until the chocolate ganache is smooth and silky.
- Pour the chocolate ganache into the cooled tart shells until almost full. Carefully transfer to the fridge for 2-3 hours to set.
Notes
- Use COLD butter for the crust, we suggest cutting the butter into cubes and then placing it in the fridge, so when you are ready to use it, it will be very cold.
- Let the pastry dough rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour before handling it. This makes sure that the pastry doesn't rise quickly while baking.
- If the crust puffs a bit while baking, press it down using a cup.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture.
- Use an easy-release tartlets pan. We use an easy-release tartlets pan for all of our tart recipes. This makes sure that your tart will be easy to release from the pan.
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
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