Small-Batch Chocolate Mousse Tarts
Crisp 3-inch pâte sucrée shells filled with silky bittersweet chocolate mousse and topped with stabilized whipped cream make an elegant small-batch chocolate dessert.
Servings: 6 mini tarts
Calories: 329kcal
Equipment
- Electric Mixer
- Kitchen scale
- 1 ¾-inch scoop
- Small offset spatula
- 1M star tip and piping bag
- Microplane for grating the chocolate
Ingredients
Chocolate Mousse Filling
- 6 fully baked 3-inch pâte sucrée tart shells, completely cooled (See Tip 1)
- ½ cup (3 ounces, 85 grams) Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips (See Tip 2)
- ¾ cup (6 ounces, 180 ml) heavy whipping cream, divided
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Small pinch of salt
Topping
- ½ teaspoon unflavored gelatin
- 2 teaspoons (0.36 ounces) cold water
- ½ cup (4 ounces, grams) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- Finely grated bittersweet chocolate (See Tip 3)
Instructions
Chocolate Mousse Filling
- Place the chocolate chips, ¼ cup heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power in 30-second increments until the chocolate chips are melted, about 1 minute. Stir until completely smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature (See Tips 4 and 5)
- Beat the remaining ½ cup cold heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold about ⅓ of the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture until combined. Then fold in the remaining whipped cream until completely combined and no white streaks remain.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture until completely combined and no white streaks remain.
- Place a cooled tart shell on a kitchen scale and tare the scale. Add 35 grams of mousse. Gently smooth with an offset spatula. Repeat with the remaining five shells. (See Tip 6)
- Refrigerate the tartlets uncovered until thoroughly cold and the filling is set, about an hour.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- Add the unflavored gelatin to a small microwave-safe bowl with cold water. Allow it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes to bloom. Then, heat for 5 seconds in the microwave to dissolve.
- Add the cream, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar to a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, slowly add the dissolved gelatin. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
- Pipe a low swirl of stabilized whipped cream onto each tart using a 1M star tip.
- Finely grate bittersweet chocolate over the whipped cream with a Microplane.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Yield: 6 mini Chocolate Mousse Tarts.
Video
Notes
- Instead of the Pâte Sucrée tart shells, you can use store-bought 3.5-inch Ready Bake Graham Cracker Crust. However, they are slightly larger than the 3-inch tart shells, so you will need a bit more filling.
- May substitute semisweet chocolate chips for the bittersweet. However, the depth of chocolate flavor will not be as pronounced.
- I used a Microplane to finely grate the chocolate.
- At first, it may look like the chocolate mixture will not come together. Be patient and continue stirring. It will suddenly turn silky.
- I cooled the chocolate mixture to 78°F before folding in the whipped cream. You want the chocolate mixture to be cool enough so that it will not deflate the whipped cream, but not so cool that it starts to set.
- Avoid perfectly smoothing the top of the tarts. The whipped cream will hide any imperfections.
Nutrition
Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 730IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 2mg
