Mini Chocolate Tarts
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.Impress your friends with easy-to-master mini chocolate tarts! These chocolate tartlets feature a decadent chocolate ganache filling in a buttery pastry crust with a white chocolate drizzle. You will love these impressive yet portable treats!
It’s no secret I adore all-things chocolate! If it can have chocolate, it WILL have chocolate. These individual chocolate tarts look like they came from a pastry case at a high-end bakery. Nobody has to know they’re easy to make! The silky smooth ganache with the buttery crust is divine.
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I used semi-sweet chocolate, but you can just as easily use dark chocolate for an intense flavor or milk chocolate for a sweet flavor.
These easy mini chocolate tarts freeze well too. Make them ahead of time, freeze, and pull them out a few hours before you plan to serve them.
These show-stopping treats are great for dinner parties, get-togethers, and celebrations. Add festive sprinkles for holiday pizazz! Try red hearts for valentine’s day, red & green sprinkles for Christmas, or orange jimmies for fall!
👩🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Rich chocolate ganache filling
- Beautiful for a special occasion, a dinner party, or afternoon tea
- Chocolate lover’s dream, will totally satisfy your chocolate craving!
- Made with basic ingredients
- Kid-friendly
- Easy to make with simple steps
- Make the chocolate filling as sweet or intense as you like!
🥘 Ingredients
This mini chocolate tart recipe requires simple ingredients found at your local grocery store.
- All-Purpose Flour: To make the shortcrust pastry. It has the right amount of protein to give you a sturdy but tender crust.
- Sugar & Salt: To sweeten the pastry shells. A little bit of salt actually brings out the sweetness of the sugar even more!
- Butter: A whole stick of butter seems like a lot, but it makes a buttery, tender tart crust! Be sure to use cold butter.
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
- Cold Water: Water hydrates the dough, but it’s crucial to use cold water. Cold water keeps the butter cold, which is essential for a flaky crust that’s not tough.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: Semi-sweet chocolate is about 53 percent cacao, depending on the brand. If you like an intense chocolate flavor, swap with dark chocolate instead. It’s best to use a high-quality chocolate bar like Ghirardelli or Callebaut. Use a chocolate bar, as chocolate chips don’t always melt into a smooth consistency.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream has a high fat content, which creates the richness of the chocolate ganache.
- White Chocolate: For drizzling! I like easy-to-use white melting wafers that don’t clump or harden too quickly.
📖 Variations
Baked mini chocolate tarts are easy to customize – there are so many different ways to modify this easy dessert! Try one of these droolworthy variations.
- Toppings: Try chopped nuts, fresh berries, cacao nibs, whipped cream, sea salt, toffee bits, fresh fruit, smooth caramel, or raspberry sauce.
- Chocolate Mousse Mini Tarts: Whip 1 cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the ganache until smooth, then fill the tart crusts. Chocolate mousse tarts need to be refrigerated.
- Make It Gluten Free: You can use a gluten-free flour with xanthan gum instead of the all purpose flour – it should work well as a 1:1 substitution.
- Mini Chocolate Caramel Tarts: Top each tart with store-bought or homemade caramel. The caramel layer can be on top or bottom.
🔪 How To Make Mini Chocolate Tarts
Pulse Ingredients: Add all the pastry ingredients, except the egg and water, into a food processor. Pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Form Dough: With the machine still running, pour in the egg and drizzle in the water until the mixture just starts to form a ball.
Chill Dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and use your hands to form a ball of dough. Press the ball into a disc shape, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 to 45 minutes.
Spray Tart Pan, Roll Out The Dough: Spray the tart tins with nonstick cooking spray, and preheat your oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Clean off a work area and dust it with flour. Roll the pastry dough out on the floured surface to about 1/8 of inch thick.
Shape Dough: Cut the dough into circles slightly larger than the tart pans.
Fill Tart Pans: Place each dough circle into each tart pan. Gently press dough down into the pan to remove any air bubbles. Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the tart. Trim any excess pastry hanging off the edges with a sharp knife.
Bake Tart Shells: Place a small piece parchment paper into each pastry crust and fill with rice. Place the tartlet shells on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Chop Chocolate: Finely chop the chocolate and place into a large bowl.
Add Cream: Heat the cream in a microwave-safe glass until it begins to bubble upward but not overflow. Alternatively, you can heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds. Stir the melted chocolate with a rubber spatula until completely smooth.
Remove From Oven: Pull the pastry crusts out of the oven, place on a wire rack.
Fill Mini Chocolate Tart Shells: Pour the chocolate mixture into the cooled tart shells.
Chill & Serve: Place the chocolate desserts in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Once these chocolate mini tarts are firmly set, drizzle the tops with white chocolate and enjoy!
❓ Recipe FAQs
Yes! If you’re in a hurry or want to simplify this recipe, buy store-bought pastry shells and skip directly to step 12. All you have to do is make the ganache filling, pour it into the shells, and chill until firmly set.
These mini chocolate ganache tarts taste best within a day of making them. This ensures the shortbread crust stays crisp. Store leftover tarts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 3 days.
Yes, mini ganache tarts freeze well. Chill the tarts first so they are firmly set, then wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze. For best results, enjoy within 3 months. After that you risk them getting freezer burnt. Thaw the tarts in the refrigerator overnight, then enjoy!
Yes, if you don’t want to make individual tarts, you can make this recipe in one large tart pan instead of small tart pans.
💭 Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip chilling the chocolate tart before serving because it needs that time to set up all the way.
- Remove the tart from the fridge about 15 minutes before serving.
- Don’t use chocolate chips for the ganache – a high quality chocolate bar melts much better and creates a much smoother consistency!
- It’s important to add pastry weights like dried rice or beans when you bake the crust. Doing this prevents the bottoms from puffing up too much.
- Be sure to use cold butter for the crust. The tiny pieces of butter throughout the crust release steam in the oven, which gives you a light and tender crust.
🍫 More Chocolate Dessert Recipes!
- No bake Chocolate Cheesecake
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Oatmeal
- Protein Powder Mug Cake
- Matcha Brownies
- Edible Brownie Batter
- White Chocolate And Raspberry Blondies
- Chocolate Mango Cake
- Vegan Protein Balls
- Sugar Free, Raw, Vegan Chocolate Mousse
- Dark Chocolate and Ricotta Tart
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📋 Recipe Card
🎥 Watch How to Make It
Mini Chocolate Tarts
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ cup cold butter diced
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1-2 tbsp cold water
Ganache Filling
- 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Topping Options
- ¼ cup white chocolate, melted
Equipment
Instructions
- Add all pastry ingredients, except the egg and water, into a high-speed food processor and blitz until it looks like breadcrumbs.
- While the machine is running pour in the egg and slowly add the water until the dough just starts to form a ball.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured bench, bring the dough together and shape into a ball. Press into a disc shape, cover with plastic wrap and rest it in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
- Lightly spray 6×6 inch tart dishes with nonstick cooking spray.
- Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F / 160 C
- Roll the dough out to approximately ⅛ inch thickness. Cut the dough into circles a little larger than the tart dishes.
- Place the dough circle into the prepared tart dish, gently press to remove any air bubbles. Trim the edges and use a fork to dock the base.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Place a sheet of baking paper into each tart and fill it either with rice or baking beads.
- Place the tart dishes on to an oven tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Remove and allow to cool while preparing the ganache filling.
- Finely chop the chocolate and place into a mixing bowl.
- Heat the cream in a microwave until hot. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir until completely melted.
- Evenly divide the filling amongst the cooked tart bases.
- Place into the fridge for 2 hours or overnight to set firmly.
- Serve the tarts with a drizzle of melted white chocolate.
Notes
- The finer you chop the chocolate the easier it is to melt with the hot cream.
- Bake the tart bases until lightly golden.
- Chilling the pastry before rolling and cutting reduces shrinkage.
- Substitute the all-purpose flour with gluten free flour to make these tarts gluten free.
- Using a fork to dock the pastry allow reduces air bubbles in the pastry.
These mini tarts are so good and perfect for when I’m craving something sweet! Delicious!
Thanks so much Jamie! 🙂
I absolutely adore mini desserts! These tarts look incredible and I can’t wait to try them!
You will love this recipe Tayler!
I’ve always been a fan of chocolate desserts, so these tarts are right up my alley. They’re delicious and they present beautifully!
Thanks Dana! Enjoy! 🙂
I was in chocolate heaven when I took a bite of this tart. I wanted to eat them all but save the rest for my family!
Woohoo! So great to hear Mirlene, I’m sure they’ll love these tarts too!
These mini chocolate tarts look fantastic; I’ve booked marked this recipe and will make it over the Xmas holidays; my family will love them 🙂
Thanks so much Kay! These really are perfect for the holidays!
How big is a tart tin?
I used a 9 inch tin!
When we want a dessert it has to be chocolate and this one is the best! So rich and fudgy, just how we like it!
Hooray! Thanks for letting me know Pam!
I totally agree! Everyone at my house really loved it!
So happy to hear that Toni!
Oh this looks epic. Any kind of chocolate dessert gets a big thumbs up from me.
Yesss! Enjoy!
This looks like my kind of dessert! Coffee always helps bring out the chocolate flavour. Loving the cherries on top too.
Totally! I love pairing coffee and chocolate for that exact reason! I can’t wait for you to try this recipe!