Mini Chocolate Tart with Pecans for Two
An elegant dessert for two – this mini tart is filled with toasted pecans, salted caramel and a layer of chocolate. The perfect treat for a date night or special occasion.
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When life gets a bit too stressful it’s important to take a deep breath and then make an unreasonably complicated tart. Loml copes by exercising and meditating, I cope by trying to figure out how many different layers I can fit into a 5-inch mini chocolate tart.
(The 2020 US Election has led to the creation of 1 million new desserts (also 90% of statistics are made up) and this tart is one of them)
As you may have guessed I spent election night flipping through news channels and crafting this little chocolate tart. It’s a small two-person chocolate tart, filled with salted caramel and toasted pecans. I’ve named it “Election Day Tart”, but really it’s a lovely little tart that should be eaten at all times (not just election times).
Normally I stick to pretty simple approachable recipes that you can pull together quickly. This isn’t normally (for a lot of reasons). Instead, I’ve gone for something that uses minimal ingredients, reasonably simple skills, but takes some time to do. Don’t be intimidated by the long list of steps, instead, take your time to work through this recipe and use the time to reflect on life and feel a little meditative.
Bonus: you could definitely order take out, make this little mini chocolate tart and have a brilliant date night because this is a brilliant date night dessert recipe for two (or for one TBH)!
Why I love this mini chocolate tart recipe
- Flavor: Personally I think the only way you can improve upon a chocolate tart is by adding caramel and nuts to it. Therefore I think this is a particularly lovely combination. (If you’re not a chocolate person then I kindly suggest you steer away from this particular chocolate overload and try out this grapefruit tart instead.)
- Texture: Crisp pastry; soft caramel; crunchy pecans; smooth ganache. It’s just such a great mixture of textures.
- Slow: Make this when you want to Bake-itate (baking meditation – it’s not a thing but we can pretend). Move slowly, relax, and enjoy the process.
How to make this small chocolate tart
1) Make your pastry for the mini chocolate tart
If you’ve never made pastry by hand I’d recommend you look for a youtube video so that you can see the technique. If you’re used to making pastry then dive right on in. Rub the butter into the flour, salt, and sugar. Stir in the water and refrigerate the pastry.
2) Make the caramel
Whip up a really quick caramel. No need for a thermometer for this just melt the sugar and let it brown a bit before you stir in the rest of the ingredients. Salt it to taste and then set it aside.
3) Bake the Pastry
Line your tart tin with the pastry and fill it with pie weights. I have this tart ring kit because I’m obsessed with cute mini tart pans (and cute huge tart pans let’s be honest here…), but you can definitely make this in a couple smaller tart rings or even in a muffin pan.
Bake the pastry for 15 minutes then remove the weights and bake until the base is golden. I used a 5-inch tart ring for this but you could also make tarts using a normal cupcake pan. If you do that you should be able to make two tarts.
4) Toast the pecans and make the chocolate ganache
Give your pecans a quick toast and then make the ganache by pouring hot cream over chopped chocolate.
5) Assemble the cutest mini chocolate tart you’ve ever assembled
Pour the caramel into the tart, layer in the pecans, and then top with the chocolate ganache. Refrigerate it until set and then enjoy!
Chocolate-Pecan-Caramel Election Night Tart
Ingredients
Pastry
- 50 g flour
- 25 g butter
- pinch of salt
- pinch of sugar
- 2.5 tsps ice water
Caramel
- 30 g sugar
- 12 g butter
- 20 g cream
- pinch salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract optional
Toasted Pecans
- 25 g pecans
Chocolate ganache
- 50 g dark chocolate
- 50 g cream
Instructions
Make the pastry
- Begin by combining the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Add in the butter and rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until you get a crumbly mixture with no large pieces of butter. You can also do this in the food processor by pulsing the ingredients together until just combined.
- Add the water to the pastry and mix it in then knead gently until you are just about able to bring the pastry together into a dough. You want to avoid mixing it too much, because that will result in a tough pastry. You can also add a tiny bit more water if it’s still too dry. Once you can gather it into a messy ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for half an hour.
Make the caramel
- To make the caramel pour the sugar into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat stirring consistently until the sugar melts. It will clump together and slowly start to melt and then turn golden. Be careful not to let it burn at this point!
- Once the sugar is golden brown add in the butter and mix consistently until it’s melted. If the mixture separates then pull it off the heat and whisk it until it comes back together.
- Whisk in the cream. At first, the caramel will seize up but just keep stirring until it smooths back out.
- Flavor the caramel with salt and vanilla extract and taste to make sure you are happy with the flavor balance. Add more salt, vanilla, or cream depending on your preferences!
- Leave the caramel to the side while you prepare your pastry.
Bake the pastry
- Preheat the oven to 375 F
- Roll out the pastry and line a small 5inch tart ring with the pastry. To do so, gently place the pastry over the ring, or tart tin, and lift the edges while you press the pastry down into the corners of the ring. The aim here is to make sure the pastry reaches the edges without stretching the pastry too much while you do so. Don’t worry if it’s a bit scruffy – you can clean it up later if you want or just leave it as is!
- Prick the base of the pastry with a fork a few times and then place the pastry in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Take the pastry out of the freezer and line with tin foil or parchment paper and then fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice.
- Bake the pastry for 15 minutes, remove the weights and paper, and bake for another 5 minutes or until the base is a light golden brown.
Toast the pecans
- Toast the pecans in a pan over medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes or until they are nicely toasted and your kitchen starts to smell like toasted pecans! Remember to mix them occasionally to prevent burning.
Prepare the chocolate ganache
- Chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl.
- Microwave the cream until simmering (about 45 seconds but check it after 30).
- Pour the cream over the chocolate and cover the bowl with a plate and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Prepare the tart
- Tip the caramel into the baked tart ring, you may want to rewarm it a bit if it’s difficult to pour, then spread the pecans on top.
- While the caramel sets grab the chocolate and cream mixture and stir it until it’s smooth then pour it over the pecans. Smooth the top slightly with a spoon if you would like and then let the tart set in the fridge for 15 minutes or until the ganache is set.