Firstly, let me rave about the book from which I got this recipe, "Baking for All Occasions," by Flo Braker. It's my reading relaxation at present, filled with delicious recipes for the sweet tooth, recipes that do not look too complicated to make but which have luscious fillings, toppings and sauces, and a great selection of styles and types of sweet-tooth baking. On my list after today's Milk Chocolate Tarts are treats such as, "Luscious Lime Bars with Milk Chocolate Glaze", "Strawberry-Mango Shortcakes with Basil Syrup","Peanut Butter Crunch Cake," "Cupid's Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream" and lots more. Most of the ingredients are quite easy to obtain and will not break the bank. I can see the beginning of a beautiful friendship with this book.
Milk Chocolate Tartlets
I used a pate sucree for the pastry shells, baked in 4-inch mini tartlet pans with removable bases; for the filling I used extra creamy Lindt milk chocolate and a sprinkling of toasted almond slices. Baking time was about 15 mins. at 375F for blind baking, then about 7 mins. for open baking.
The filling is a ganache consisting of 10 ozs. milk chocolate and 3/4 cup of cream, with the cream brought to the boil and poured over the chocolate, allowed to sit for a minute, then stirred to a nice, smooth soft consistency. The recipe in the book calls for meringue topping, which I will try the next time I make this treat - my apartment in Brooklyn offers a tropical climate in summer, not a good time for finer things such as meringue. I'll just take a picture and be on my way to the chocoholics at work.
Bench Notes: Next time use stronger flavored nuts, such as pecans. The almond flavor rather disappeared into the chocolate. Also add 1/4 tsp. gelatin sprinkled over 1 tsp. of water, allowed to get damp, then blitz in the microwave for 5 seconds - this makes the chocolate set more firmly.
