It’s the school holidays and J wanted to make chocolate mousse, while I wanted to test out my newly purchased Gobel tart rings. I usually make tarts with ganache but thought hey I could use mousse! We discussed the elements and J came up with a plan, a cross-sectional drawing of her mousse design.
After a bit of debate, we had two ideas:
- Chocolate mousse, hazelnut, Nutella tart
- Salted caramel, chocolate mousse and strawberries tart
For the hazelnut tart, a thin layer of Nutella (you can of course use chocolate ganache) was spread on the base of the tart, then a thin layer of roasted hazelnut paste and then topped with the chocolate mousse.
For the salted caramel tart, a thin layer of salted caramel was first spread on the base of the tart, then topped with chocolate mousse. Some freeze dried strawberries were added to give a contrasting taste to the sweet and salty caramel.
For both, cocoa nibs, crunchy chocolate pearls and feuilletine shards were added for texture.
I like how I can do the components separately (to fit in with school holiday activities) and then assemble right before serving.
Hope you will enjoy these!
Sweet almond tart base
Makes 10 x 9″ ring tart bases
200g all-purpose (plain) flour
40g ground almonds
100g icing sugar
100g butter, cold and cubed
1 egg (I use size 8)
- Sift and combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and ‘rub in’, working the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until it resemble small crumbs
- Add the egg and incorporate it into the dry ingredients.
- Work the dough lightly by gathering the dough with your fingertips and folding it over with a downward push of your palm. Work quickly and lightly, till it comes together.
- Wrap up the dough inside a folded sheet of baking paper, gently roll flat with a rolling pin and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, prepare the tart rings by buttering them.
- When the dough is ready, lightly sprinkle some flour on your bench or chopping board.
- Roll out the dough on the board with a rolling pin to a thickness of 2-3mm. You may need to add more flour to keep it from sticking as it is a very soft dough.
- Cut out a circle of dough larger than your ring and place onto the buttered tart ring or mould.
- Press well onto the sides. Use a glass to flatten the bottom and sides to ensure you have straight edges.
- Cut off excess dough by going over the top of the tart ring with the rolling pin.
- Pinch the edges up slightly.
- Prick holes at the base with a fork.
- Rest in the fridge for 30 – 60 minutes to stop it from shrinking.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Using ceramic baking beads or rice, blind bake at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes or when browned all over. Set aside to cool completely
Putting it all together
Chocolate mousse, hazelnut, Nutella tart
- Cooled tart base
- Nutella (or melted chocolate)
- Roasted hazelnut paste (Equagold)
- Chocolate mousse (Mousse recipe)
- On the top – Chocolate crunchy shards, pearls, cocoa nibs
Salted caramel, chocolate mousse and strawberries tart
- Cooled tart base
- Salted caramel (See recipe in salted caramel macaron recipe)
- Chocolate mousse
- On the top – Chocolate crunchy shards, pearls, cocoa nibs, Fresh As freeze dried strawberries
These turn out more rustic than elegant ๐ still delicious regardless!
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