**STRAWBERRY-WHITE CHOCLATE
-FILLING**
4 oz White chocolate; finely
-chopped
1 1/4 c Heavy cream
30 Strawberries
24 Fully baked 2 1/2-inch tart
-shells; made with chocolate
; tart dough
1 oz Bittersweet chocolate;
-melted for design
CHOCOLATE TART DOUGH
8 tb Unsalted butter; cut into 8
-pieces
1 c Unbleached all-purpose
-flour; minus 2 tbs.
2 tb Unsweetened dutch-processed
-cocoa powder; plus 2 tsp.
1/2 c Confectioners’ sugar; plus 2
-tbs.
1 lg Egg yolk
How to Prepare the strawberry-white choclate filling:
Place the white chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour one cup of the cream into
a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot cream all at once on top of
the chocolate. Let sit for one minute then whisk until smooth. Strain into
a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and puncture several holes in it
with the tip of a paring knife. Refrigerate for at least four hours, or
overnight.
Coarsely chop six of the strawberries. Divide them among the tart shells.
Pour the chilled white chocolate cream into the bowl of a stand mixer or a
medium mixing bowl, and add the remaining 1/4 cup cream. Using the whisk
attachment or hand held mixer. beat at medium speed just until soft peaks
begin to form.
Carefully spoon the white chocolate cream into the tart shells. Refrigerate
for 15 minutes, or until the set.
Place a whole strawberry with its cap still on, upright on each tart.
Fill a paper pastry bag with melted chocolate. Pipe a single chocolate dot
on the white chocolate in front of each strawberry, and serve.
How to Prepare the chocolate tart dough:
Let the butter sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. It should be
malleable, but still cool.
Sift together the flour and the cocoa powder.
Place the confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium
mixing bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat. Using the paddle attachment,
or a handheld mixer, cream the sugar and butter at a medium speed until the
sugar is no longer visible. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg
yolk and beat until well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl again. Add
half of the flour mixture and beat until the dough becomes crumbly. Stop
the machine, add the remaining flour mixture, and beat until the dough
forms a sticky mass. Shape the dough into a disk and wrap well in plasticup
Refrigerate until firm, approximately two hours.
Dust a work surface with flour. Cut the chilled dough into 10 pieces.
Using the heel of your hand, knead the pieces back together into a smooth
disk. As you work, use a dough scraper to free the dough from the surface
if necessary. Keeping the surface well dusted, roll the disk into a 10-inch
log. If using flan rings, cut the log into seven equal pieces, if using
tart pans, cut into six pieces. Refrigerate for five minutes.
If using flan rings, line the baking sheet with parchment paper and set
seven 4-inch flan rings on it.
Dust the work surface and a rolling pin with flour. Using your fist,
flatten one piece of dough into a 2- to 3-inch round. Lift it up off the
work surface to dust underneath with flour. Using the rolling pin, roll the
dough into a 5 1/2-inch round, or a 6-inch round if using tart pans, about
1/8-inch thick. With a pastry docker or a fork, prick holes all over the
dough. (If dough is too soft to handle at this point, use a dough scraper
to remove it to a small baking sheet and refrigerate it for two to three
minutes before proceeding.)
Center the round of dough over a flan ring or a 4 3/4-inch fluted tart pan
with a removable bottom. If using a tart pan, be careful that the edge does
not tear the dough. With your thumbs on the inside and the tips of your
fingers outside, run your hands around the ring or pan several times,
easing the dough down into it. Speed does not matter, finesse does. Lower
your thumbs to the inside bottom of the ring and press to form a right
angle between the bottom and sides of the dough. There should be at least a
1/2-inch rim of excess dough extending straight above the top edge. With a
small knife, tilted upward, trim the excess dough flush with the top of the
ring. Or if using a tart pan, simply roll the rolling pin over the top to
trim the excess. Repeat this process with the remaining
continued in part 2
Yields
1 servings