Chocolate Ganache Heart Tartlets
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Vegetable-oil cooking spray
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), coarsely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Meringue Hearts (recipe follows)
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- Pinch of cream of tartar
- Gel-paste food coloring, in assorted colors
- (makes about 6 dozen)
- Make the crust: In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, and salt.
- With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add sugar, and beat until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low.
- Add vanilla and the flour mixture, and mix until dough just begins to hold together, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, then use wrap to gather dough into a ball.
- Flatten into a disk, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
- Coat five 5-inch tart pans with cooking spray.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut dough into 5-inch rounds, and press into bottom and up sides of tart pans.
- Trim excess dough flush with rims.
- Patch any tears.
- Refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Place tart pans on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until dry, about 25 minutes.
- Let cool completely on wire racks.
- Make the filling: Place chocolate in a bowl.
- In a small saucepan, bring cream and milk almost to a boil; pour over chocolate.
- Let stand 2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk until smooth.
- Let stand 10 minutes more.
- Stir in egg.
- Return crusts to rimmed baking sheet, and pour in filling.
- Bake until just set, about 25 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before removing from pans.
- Garnish with meringue hearts.
- Preheat oven to 175F.
- Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water.
- Whisk until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer to an electric mixer, and beat on medium-high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 7 minutes.
- Divide meringue into batches, and tint each with food coloring as desired.
- Transfer to pastry bags fitted with 1/4-inch star tips (#18).
- Pipe hearts (1/2 to 1 inch each) onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Bake 2 hours.
- Turn oven off, and let meringues stand in oven 8 hours (or overnight).
- Meringues can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place up to 2 weeks.
flour, cocoa powder, salt, unsalted butter, sugar, vanilla, vegetableoil cooking spray, bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream, milk, egg, meringue, egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, gelpaste food coloring
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-ganache-heart-tartlets-389801 (may not work)