Get the Recipe for these Chocolate and Cherry Tarts
- For the hazelnut pastry
- 150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 50g ground hazelnuts
- 1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
- 100g butter, chilled and diced
- 25g icing sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- For the hazelnut ganache
- 75ml whipping cream
- 100g chopped dark chocolate
- 75g chopped milk chocolate
- 20g honey
- 50g hazelnut purée/butter
- To decorate
- cherry jam
- 200g chopped dark chocolate
- red lustre powder (optional)
- 12 fresh cherries
- 10-cm round cookie cutter
- 12-hole muffin pan, greased
- baking beans
- disposable piping bag
Start by making the hazelnut pastry. Tip the flour and ground hazelnuts into the bowl of a food processor, add the cinnamon, salt and butter. Pulse to rub the butter into the flour until it is pale and sand-like in texture. Add the icing sugar and mix again to combine. Add the beaten egg and pulse until the mixture starts to come together. Tip the dough out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring it together to a neat ball. Flatten into a disc, cover in clingfilm and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour until firm.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of no more than 2mm. Using the cookie cutter stamp out 12 discs from the dough. Gently press the discs into the muffin pan, trying not to stretch the dough but making sure that the holes are evenly lined. Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170C/350F/Gas 5.
Line the tart cases with a square of baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until pale golden and starting to crisp. Remove the tarts from the oven and carefully lift out the baking beans or rice and parchment or foil, and return the pan to the oven for one minute more to dry out the tart bases. Remove from the oven and leave until cold before removing from the pan.
Temper the chocolate for decorating by melting in the microwave in bursts of 30 seconds. Once the mixture is three-quarters melted, stop heating and stir well to remove any lumps. Spread out very thinly onto a sheet of baking parchment using a palette knife and set aside to harden. Once set, brush with red lustre powder.
Next, prepare the ganache. Tip all of the ganache ingredients into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir gently to combine into a silky smooth mixture, remove from the heat and leave to cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to the piping bag and set aside.
To build the tarts, divide the cherry compote between the pastry cases and spread level. Pipe ganache over the cherry compote in an even, smooth layer. Finish each tart with a fresh cherry and crack the tempered chocolate to form shards that can be arranged on top.
Recipes extracted from Summer Fruit Pastries published by Ryland Peters & Small (£14.99) Photography © Ryland Peters & Small
