Chocolate Chiffon Tart

Chocolate Chiffon Tart is a light and airy dessert confection with a chiffon style filling similar to a chocolate mousse. It is a delight to just sit and savour over this tart as you eat it. I find it is much more enjoyable than a tart filled with pure chocolate ganache, which I find can be quite sickly and too sweet.

With Mother's Day just around the corner on Sunday, this tart would be perfect as part of  a Mother's Day celebration. Topped with whipped cream and grated chocolate, the filling is lovely and light and almost fluffy, with a silky smooth texture. A crisply baked pastry shell  provides a wonderful base for this tart. If you have more filling than required for your tart shells, that's ok, as the chocolate mousse filling can also be enjoyed as a dessert on it's own or accompanied by extra cream and berries for a stand alone dessert. The recipe uses simple and quite inexpensive ingredients, and it was an absolute pleasure to make this tart for our Wedding Anniversary.

This tart doesn't need to be served just as a dessert, it would also be perfect for morning or afternoon tea. 

This tart recipe was given to me by Robyn, a lovely friend of ours, who knew Mr. HRK when he was teaching at Pioneer High School, many years ago. Robyn was a Home Economics teacher at Pioneer Highschool, and her cooking  knowledge and her recipe collection are very impressive and she is also very generous with her knowledge. 

The plate that I have served this tart slice on in the top photo is a Shelley Fine Bone China plate called Daffodil Time, and is one of a set of two. These and the cake server belonged to my Mum, and are quite precious to me.

I suggest that you use 2x9 " pie plates for these tarts, lining them with either home baked pastry (recipe below) or pre-bought pastry.

Ingredients:

1 tin Carnation Milk, chilled

1 cup Caster sugar

4 teaspoons gelatine

2 tablespoons cocoa

1/2 cup boiling water

Method:

Chill 1 tin Carnation Milk, then whip until thick

Add 1 cup sugar

Dissolve 4 teaspoons gelatine in 1/2 cup boiling water, a spoonful at a time, add 2 tablespoons cocoa

When gelatine solution is cool, add to the whipped milk

This makes enough to fill two large pie shells.

Decorate with whipped cream and grated chocolate

Lovely and light, chiffon style

Pastry Recipe:

Makes enough for 2 pie plates or a lamington tray

Sift 113 g/4 oz S.R. flour, 113 g/4 oz plain flour, 57 g/2 oz./4 tblsp. custard powder together into a basin.

Rub in 170 g/6 oz. butter.

Add 3 tablespoons sugar, and mix to a firm dough with 4 tablespoons milk.

Knead lightly and roll out.

If making 2 tarts with the pastry, put the 2nd half in the frig while working with the first one.

Use a cool work area when making pastry and try to work quickly.

To prevent shortcrust pastry becoming soggy, cases need to be partially cooked before adding moist fillings, particularly when the tart filling doesn't need to be cooked.

This process is known as Blind Baking, and it seals the surface, resulting in a crisp pastry case.

Blind Bake your Shortcrust Pastry Case

Line your pie plates with the rolled out pastry. TIP: Roll your beautiful pastry over a rolling pin from one edge to the opposite edge, and then unroll over your pie plate. Trim around the edges of the plate allowing a slight overhang to allow for minimal shrinkage when the pastry bakes. Using a fork, press lightly around the edge of the pastry to not only create an attractive pattern but to also press the pastry lightly onto the pie plate.

Prick the base of your pastry with the fork just a few times. Line the uncooked pastry case with non-stick baking paper. Fill with rice, dried beans or metal or ceramic baking weights. This stops the pastry base rising during cooking.

COOK'S TIP: I keep a jar of brown rice set aside in a bottle just for blind baking. Once rice has been used for blind baking, it's not suitable for cooking with, but can be reused multiple times for blind baking.

Place the Pie Plates on a baking tray and cook in an oven preheated to 220C for 8-10 minutes.

Remove your pastry case from the oven and carefully remove the baking paper and rice, or dried beans or baking weights. The rice will be very hot. Cook the pastry for a further 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of the pastry case), or until the pastry is a light golden colour.

The pastry cases can be baked a day ahead of adding the filling. Store them in a covered container from which they can be easily removed, overnight, until you add the filling the following day, if you wish. I store mine in one of those plastic containers which has a removeable insert which can be lifted out.

The gelatine solution

Cocoa added to Gelatine solution

Chocolate chiffon filling in a premade pastry case, it worked well as a shortcut.

 

Your family or friends will just love you even more if you make them this tart this weekend. It is a winner. 

Warm wishes,

Pauline