Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tartlets
These dark chocolate raspberry tartlets are rich homemade chocolate pastry cases filled with luscious raspberry sauce and topped with rich dark chocolate ganache. Beautifully elegant, the tartlets have no refined sugar, and can be made with either all-purpose or spelt flour.
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The idea to make dark chocolate and raspberry tartlets came from my Rolo chocolate pastry pie. For that recipe, I’d made my own chocolate pastry crust. I’d bought some super cute little tartlet cases and thought I would make little mini tarts with them.
Do I need to make my own pastry?
As pastry recipes go, it doesn’t get much easier than this one. Yes, making pastry can take time (it certainly isn’t a ten minute wonder), but making it is regarded as being difficult, when really it is not at all. There is nothing more complicated than adding butter and an egg to dry ingredients. Assessing whether it is too wet or dry can be a little more challenging, but if you follow my recipe, your chocolate pastry should turn out great. I talk more about how to make the chocolate pastry cases (any kind of pastry, actually) in my post for homemade chocolate spelt pastry.
However, no, you don’t need to make your own pastry. You can buy ready made tartlet shells (if you can get hold of them), or roll-out short crust pastry. Alternatively, you can make these using puff pastry. I love shop bought puff pastry. It’s just so quick, easy and versatile, as my 23 inspiring puff pastry recipes will attest to.
I don’t like dark chocolate, can I use milk chocolate instead?
It’s understandable that dark chocolate is not everyone’s cup of tea. However, when combined with raspberries, you can’t beat it. I rarely eat dark chocolate on its own; it needs the company of a little maple syrup or honey. In this case, the ganache also has butter, which evens out the bitterness of dark chocolate. Plus, you need to be using a good quality dark chocolate (no lower than 70%).
However, if I haven’t convinced you to use dark chocolate, you could use milk chocolate. If I was making this for my kids, that’s what I would have used. Or, why not use a combination of the two, like I did for my Rolo pie? In fact, while we are exploring different possibilities, white chocolate would work so well with the raspberries.
Using maple syrup to sweeten recipes
This recipe does not contain any refined sugar. It gets is gorgeous sweetness from maple syrup. If I am using any kind of berries or fruit in my recipes, I always sweeten them with maple syrup. Not only is it a completely natural product, but it tastes delicious.
You don’t need much of it, either. Just a light drizzle on your favourite dishes, like blueberry banana pancakes, is all that is needed to give you a sweet hit. For this recipe, you could easily use honey in the same quantities, if you preferred.
What other berries could I use?
Tart raspberries with sultry dark chocolate is a love match made in heaven. However, any berries would work well. Strawberries in particular would be a great substitute for raspberries, or why not a summer berry mix? This could also be made with apples, but I think I would then make a cinnamon pastry instead of the chocolate.
Other spelt pastry recipes
Spelt pastry is so versatile and can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. Here are some of my best spelt flour pastry recipes:
- Chicken and ham pies
- Cheese and red onion spelt galette
- Salmon and asparagus quiche
- Cheese and potato spelt pasties
- Caramel pecan spelt galette
- Deep dish roasted vegetable pie
Chocolate and Raspberry Tartlets
Equipment
- 7 Tartlet cases (or use a muffin pan)
Ingredients
Chocolate Pastry:
- 90g (¾ cup) spelt flour (see note 1)
- 25g (3 tbsp + 2 tsp) cocoa
- 25g (2 tbsp + 2 tsp) icing / powdered / confectioners' sugar
- 75g (¼ cup + 1 tbs) cold butter (chopped into small bits)
- 1 egg yolk (small)
- cold water (only if needed)
Raspberry Filling:
- 200g (7 oz) raspberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tbs maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbs water
Dark Chocolate Ganache:
- 200g (7 oz) dark chocolate (see note 2)
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 tbs honey or maple syrup
Instructions
Chocolate Pastry:
- Please find the instructions for chocolate pastry tartlet cases.
Raspberry Filling:
- Heat the filling ingredients together in a pan until the fruit softens (enough to mush it).
- Leave it in the fridge to thicken. Alternatively, you could use one teaspoon of cornflour when cooking them.
Dark Chocolate Ganache:
- Melt the dark chocolate and butter together (until just melted).
- Allow the chocolate mixture to cool for a short while and then stir in the honey / maple syrup.
Assembly:
- Take each tartlet case and fill it around half way up with the raspberry sauce.
- Spoon over some chocolate ganache and smooth it out to the edges.
- Place the tartlets in the fridge for a short while.
- Top with fresh raspberries just before serving(optional).
Notes
- Although I have not made this recipe with anything other than spelt flour, I use spelt and all-purpose interchangeably. Please read my comparison post about using spelt or plain flour for more information.
- You can use milk chocolate if you prefer. Read the main post for more information.