Mini Chocolate and Almond Tarts (For 24 mini pies)
For the pie base
350g pastry flour
3g salt
80g icing sugar
30ml Almond essence (Robson Brand)
160g butter or margarine
3g of green food coloring (optional)
24 cavities bun pan (refer photo step 3) - you may as well use double 12-cavities pan
For the filling
80g margarine
150g milk chocolate (you may use dark or white chocolate too)
30g sugar
2 eggs
30g of flour
15ml of almond essence (Robson brand)
100g ground amonds
70g chopped almonds (refer photo step 7)
For the decoration
30g of colored fondant or Marzipan
1 flower plunger (Daisy)
24 silver sugar pearls
20g of corn flour for dusting
Procedure
Step 1 (Pie base): In your mixing bowl, add your flour, icing sugar, salt and mix well together using your hand whisk. Once uniformly mixed, add butter.
Step 2: Once the butter is fully combined (uniform yellowish color), add almond essence as well as your green food coloring (optional). Knead knead knead until you obtain a non sticky dough as in the image below (right).
Step 3 : Get your bun pan/s ;)!
Step 4: Using a rolling pin, flatten your dough from step 3 (thickness ~4mm) and cut out circular shapes using your favorite cookie cutter. The diameter of your circular cookie cutter should be slightly larger than the diameter of your bun pan cavities. Place and gently press each circular dough in each and every cavity. Once done, your mini pie bases are ready to be filled ;)..
Step 5 (Preparing filling): In a bowl, mix your milk chocolate (melted in the microwave), margarine, ground almonds, eggs, sugar, almond essence and flour altogether using your hand whisk.
Step 6: Once you obtain a uniform chocolate paste, fill your tart bases accordinlgy. Do not overfill because this filling will actually raise when cooking ;).
Step 7: Tap 5-10 times your pan/s containing your filled tarts on your table surface to remove any air bubbles. Then top each and every mini tart with a litte amount of chopped almonds.
Step 8: Ready for oven :)! Bake your mini tarts in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes or until the border of each tart starts to become brown.
Step 9: Out of oven ! Hot hot hot...
Step 10: Using your rolling pin, flatten your colored Marzipan or fondant to a thickness of about 2mm and using your flower plunger, cut out some beautiful flowers ;)..
Step 11: Stick one flower on each and every tart using some water and a clean paint brush (water causes the Marzipan flower or fondant to be sticky). Then top up with a silver sugar pearl.
Tip: You may dust your working surface with some corn flour to prevent the Marzipan or fondant to stick ;)..
Voila :)!
Thank you for watching !
