TWD: Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

Do not dismiss this as just another chocolate tart. It most definitely is not ordinary.

Today’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe is from David Ogonowski. At first glance, I surmised that the truffle part of the name meant a ganache filling. Tasty enough, but common. I figured the little jibbles of amaretti and the chopped white and milk chocolates must be thrown in for amusing texture. But when I re-read the recipe, I saw there was no heavy cream, and therefore, no ganache.

What I hadn’t figured on were the egg yolks.

Eight of them, in fact, for a recipe that yields six tartlets. (That’s one and one-third egg yolk per tart, but I’m not counting.)

The egg yolks are beaten until very moussey. Into those airy yolks are folded melted butter and bittersweet chocolate. Actually what it reminded me of was the pre-freezer Chocolate Ice Cream St. John (aka Five Day Ice Cream) with its rich quantity of eggs, chocolate and cream.

To the filling is added bits of amaretti or biscotti. (I made my own amaretti by using the leftover egg white from the chocolate dough.) Next go the chopped pieces of white and milk chocolates. Fill the chocolate tart shells and pop into the oven to set the yolks.

Each tart is like a chocolate cookie wrapped around a delicate brownie — and I say brownie even though there is not one smidgen of flour in the filling. Wonderful texture. Enjoy one when it is slightly warm because the bits of chopped chocolate are soft and melty. A touch of coffee ice cream or crème anglaise wouldn’t hurt.

These extraordinary tartlets are from the book Baking with Julia. You’ll find the recipes at the blogs of our hosts Jaime of Good Eats and Sweet Treats, and Jessica of Cookbookhabit.