Chocolate Fruit Tartlets

Anyone who’s been reading this blog for any length of time knows I’m an unrepentant chocaholic, as it’s been a while since we posted a good recipe made with chocolate. Once again, I adopted one of my favorites from Jacqueline Bellefontaine‘s What’s Cooking, Chocolate:

Photo by: St John Asprey

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2/3 cups margarine
• 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 2 – 3 tablespoons water
• 1 3/4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup mixed nuts toasted
• 12 ounces prepared fruit.
• 3 tablespoons apricot reserve or red currant jelly

Directions

1. Sift together the flour and unsweetened cocoa into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
2. Stir the sugar. Add just enough of the water to mix to a soft dough, approximately 1-2 tablespoons. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use to line 4″ tartlet pans. Prick the dough with a fork and line the pie shells with a little crumpled foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F, for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the foil and bake for a further 5-10 minutes, until the pastry is crisp. Place the pans on a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Melt the chocolate. Spread out the chopped nuts on a plate. Remove the the pie shells from the tin pans. Spread melted chocolate on the rims, then dip in the nuts. Let set.
6. Arrange the fruits in thye tartlet shells. Melt the apricot preserve or red currant jelly with the remaining 1 tablespoon of water and brush it over the fruit. Chill the tartlets until needed.

— VARIATION —

If desired, you can fill the cases with a little custard cream
before topping with the fruit. For a chocolate-flavored filling,
blend 8 ounces chocolate hazelnut  spread with 5 tablespoons of Rich  Whip

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS