Chocolate Raspberry Cream Tarts
Chocolate Raspberry Cream Tarts may appear as a fancy dessert, but actually the Italian crostata is described as a “rustic free-form version of an open fruit tart”.
The description suits my version, as the shortcrust pastry shells could have been more uniform and elegantly shaped.
Yet there are absolutely no complaints about the taste. White chocolate (and sugar) balances the natural acidity of the raspberries. And the cream mousse forms a nice contrast to the crusty shells. All in all these white chocolate raspberry cream tarts make a nice sweet and fruity dessert after a proper Italian meal.
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry
250 g flour
150 g butter
80 g powdered sugar
1 egg
For the chocolate raspberry cream
4 sheets of gelatin
1/2 lemon juice
1/2 vanilla pod
200 g frozen raspberries
80 g sugar
100 g white chocolate
1 egg white
1 tbsp powdered sugar
150 ml double cream
Preparation
Start by making the shells for the chocolate raspberry cream tarts. Shortcrust pastry can be bought ready-made in which case you just have to roll it out and bake it.
Mix flour and powdered sugar
Chop and rub the butter into the flour and sugar mixuntil it resembles small breadcrumbs.
Use beaten egg to press the pastry together in a tight ball – don’t knead.
Wrap the shortcrust pastry in cling film and let it rest for an hour in the fridge.
Roll out the shortcrust pastry and line six buttered cup-sized tart pans with the pastry.
Blind bake for 15 minutes at 200 C / 390 F. And let the tart shells cool.
The pastry has a tendency to shrink, but this can be avoided if you freeze the lined tart tart pans for at least 30 minutes before baking. And then you don’t need to blind bake it either.
Meanwhile make the raspberry cream mousse
Soak the gelatin sheets in cold water.
Chop white chocolate finely.
Boil raspberries with lemon juice, vanilla pod and sugar, until the sugar has melted.
Blend raspberries and vanilla pod while still hot.
Squeeze excess water from the gelatin and stir it into the warm fruit.
Pass the still warm raspberry mixture through a fine sieve and discard the seeds
Pour the raspberry mixture over the chopped white chocolate.
Stir until the chocolate has dissolved.
Whisk egg white with powdered sugar until white and fluffy.
Fold the fluffy egg white into the raspberry mixture.
Whip the double cream lightly and fold it into the mousse.
Leave the chocolate raspberry cream in the fridge for half an hour – no more.
Fill each tart shell with mousse.
The chocolate raspberry cream tart can be decorated with mint leaves or chocolate shavings before serving.
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