Nick Malgieri
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Nick Malgieri

Erdbeer Schoggi Toertli - Chocolate Tartlets with Strawberries

These little tarts are a perfect way to showcase any fruit that married well with chocolate.

About 24 two-inch tartlets

Sweet Cocoa Pastry

1 cup all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons (2.5 ounces) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 6 pieces

1 large egg

Chocolate Cream Filling

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate cut into 1/4-inch pieces

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

1 tablespoon Kirsch

12 large strawberries

Finishing

Twenty-four 2-inch tartlet pans or mini-muffin pans

  1. For the dough, combine the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder to the work bowl and pulse several times to mix.       Add the butter and pulse about 10 times to mix the butter in finely. Add the egg and pulse repeatedly until the dough forms a ball.  Invert the dough to a floured work surface and carefully remove the blade. Form the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for an hour or two or up to 2 days before baking the tartlets.
  2. When you are ready to bake the tart, set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
  3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a floured surface. Gently knead the dough until it is smooth and malleable. Break off 1-tablespoon pieces of the dough, roll to a ball, flatten, and press into the lightly greased pans. Chill the crust while preparing the filling.
  4. For the filling, combine the cream and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally to make sure the sugar dissolves. Decrease the heat to low, add the butter and let it melt.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Gently shake the pan to submerge all the chocolate and wait 1 minute. Whisk smooth.
  5. Whisk the eggs with the orange zest and Kirsch in a medium bowl. Whisk in the chocolate mixture in a stream, scraping out the pan with a rubber spatula.
  6. Pour the chocolate filling into the prepared crusts.
  7. Bake the tartlets for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is baked through and the filling is set and slightly puffed. Cool the tart completely on a rack.
  8. Rinse and drain the strawberries. Halve them, leaving the hull attached.  Arrange a strawberry half on each tartlet, cut side upward.
  9. Pour the chocolate and butter mixture into a paper cone or a non-pleated plastic bag. Snip the end and streak the top of the tart in a series of random parallel lines with the chocolate.