chocolate pastry:
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup minus 2 tablespoons cocoa
4 tablespoons icing sugar
100g butter, chopped
1 egg
Process flour, cocoa, icing sugar and butter in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add egg and process until mixture just comes together.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Form into a disc and refrigerate 30 mins.
Cut dough in half and roll between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick, then using a 4.5cm biscuit cutter, cut out rounds and place into 4cm patty pans. Prick bases with a fork and bake at 180C for 10-12mins. Cool.
chocolate ganache:
1 cup dark couverture chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup single cream
Stir chocolate and cream over low heat until smooth. If too thick, thin with more cream. Remember: the ganache will thicken on cooling.
lemon curd:
1/2 cup lemon juice
100g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg plus 3 extra egg yolks
Place juice and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until butter is melted.
Whisk sugar, egg and egg yolks into the butter.
Stir constantly over medium-low heat for 5-7mins or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat.
assembly:
Drop a teaspoon of ganache in the bottom of the pastry case.
Fill to the top with lemon curd.
Use leftover ganache to ice over the top of the lemon curd.
Cut thin slices of lemon zest to place on top of tarts to serve.
Makes 12
*adapted from gourmet traveller ‘tarts’, gourmet traveller ‘chocolate’ & donna hay ‘modern classics 2’
butter sweet symphony 