Mini Chocolate Tarts

These mini chocolate tarts are made with a tender shortcrust pastry tart shell with a simple chocolate ganache filling. They're so easy to make in just a muffin pan! Top them with flaky salt, whipped cream, or fresh fruits for the perfect mini desserts.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• Tools
• Ingredients
• How to make mini chocolate tarts
• Storage
• Freezing
• Tips for success
• Frequently asked questions
• More tart recipes to try
• Recipe

Why you'll love this recipe

• These mini chocolate tarts are rich, buttery, and delicious!
• The recipe is easy to make with a simple ingredients list.
• These mini tarts are made in a muffin pan! You can make many mini tarts at once without individual tart pans and you likely already have a muffin pan at home.
• These tarts are very customizable. Use the basic tart shell recipe but switch up the filling or add different toppings for completely new flavours.

Tools

• Electric hand mixer - An electric hand mixer makes mixing the tart dough and beating whipped cream quick and easy. It's an essential tool in the kitchen if you bake often and can be picked up for under $100.
• 3.5" round scalloped cookie cutter - You'll need a round cookie cutter to cut out the tart dough. I used one with a scalloped edge for a beautiful detail on the tart edges but you can use a regular round cutter as well. 3.5" is a good size for a regular muffin pan. You can use a 3" cutter for shallower tart shells or a 3.75" cutter for deeper tart shells. Test it out with one size in case your muffin pan is a different size.
• Muffin pan - These mini tart shells are made in a muffin pan! No need for tiny individual tart pans. Use a regular-sized muffin pan that usually makes 12 muffins.
• Muffin/cupcake liners - These are simply used to hold the baking weights in each tart while they bake. You don't need anything fancy but muffin liners happen to be the perfect size. If you don't have any, you can press small squares of parchment paper into each tart.
• Baking weights - Since baking the tart shells with no filling in them (blind baking), we'll need to use baking weights to weigh the tart shell down so that it doesn't puff up and misshapen during baking. These are also known as pie weights and they're usually small ceramic beads. You can also use uncooked rice as an alternative.
• Piping bags - You'll need a piping bag to pipe the chocolate ganache into the tarts and another piping bag to pipe the whipped cream on top. It isn't absolutely necessary but it makes it easier.
• Large round piping tip - If you want to pipe a big dollop of whipped cream on top of your tarts, you'll need this piping tip. You can use any other piping tips for different designs.

Ingredients

As always, the full recipe card with ingredient amounts and instructions is at the bottom of this post! Keep reading for more details on each ingredient or skip ahead to the recipe.

To make these mini chocolate tarts, you'll need:

• Unsalted butter - Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature. It's much easier to cream it with the sugar when it's soft.
• Powdered sugar - Powdered sugar makes this tart crust tender and crumbly once baked.
• Egg - This should also be at room temperature so that it combined seamlessly into the batter.
• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Dark or semi-sweet chocolate - Use any good quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate you like. I used a 70% dark chocolate in mine. Roughly chop the chocolate into smaller pieces so that they melt evenly and quickly.
• Heavy cream - We'll use this to make the chocolate ganache and also whip it up on its own for the whipped cream topping. You can also use whipping cream with good results.
• Vanilla extract
• Fresh strawberries - These mini chocolate tarts are very customizable. You can use strawberries or any other fresh fruits like blueberries or raspberries.
• Flaky salt - Sprinkling almost any baked good with flaky salt is my favourite finishing touch. The salt flakes go really well with the sweet chocolate and it's an easy finishing touch if you want to keep it simple.

How to make mini chocolate tarts

For the tart shells

Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar: In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the softened butter on medium speed until creamy. Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed to start, increasing to medium speed, until fluffy.

Mix in egg: Add the egg and beat until combined.

Add flour: Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until it forms a soft, crumbly dough.

Press dough together: Dump the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Use your hands to press the dough together into a flattened disc shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Roll out the dough: On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about ⅛" thick. Use a round scalloped cookie cutter to cut rounds out of the dough.

Push dough into muffin pan: Place a dough round on top of an opening on your muffin pan. Slowly and gently push down on the dough with your knuckle until the dough slips down and fills the hole. Patch any tears with a small piece of excess dough. Repeat with the rest of the dough rounds and the pan is filled.

Chill and preheat: Place the whole pan in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes while your oven preheats. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add baking weights: Before baking, place muffin liners in each well of the pan, on top of the dough. Fill each liner with a few baking weights or uncooked rice. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges of the crusts are golden brown.

Let cool: Remove the liners and let the tart shells cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove the tart shells from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the chocolate ganache filling

Prepare chocolate: In a heat-safe bowl or measuring cup, add the chopped chocolate.

Heat cream: Heat the heavy cream on the stovetop or in the microwave until small bubbles start coming to the surface and it just barely starts to simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Set aside untouched for about 3 minutes.

Stir: Stir the chocolate and cream mixture until all the chocolate has melted and it becomes a smooth ganache.

Transfer to a piping bag: Let the ganache cool slightly until it has thickened but is still pourable. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag and cut off the tip.

Fill tart shells: Pipe ganache into each tart shell until about ¾ full.

For the toppings

Make whipped cream: In a large mixing bowl, add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Use an electric hand mixer to beat on medium speed until it becomes firm peaks.

Pipe: Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip. Pipe a dollop of whipped cream on top of the tarts.

Add other toppings: Top the other tarts with fresh fruits or sprinkle with flaky salt.

Storage

These mini chocolate tarts can be stored in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 5 days. The crust will get softer after the first day. Let the tarts come back to room temperature before serving.

If you've topped the tarts with fresh fruits, it's best to eat them within 2 days.

Freezing

These tarts can be frozen by placing them in an airtight container or wrapping them well in plastic wrap and freezing for up to 1 month. It's best to freeze them without any fruit toppings as the fruit can get mushy after thawing.

Thaw the tarts in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for several hours before serving.

Tips for success

• Use room temperature ingredients. Using room temperature butter and eggs helps the dough come together seamlessly and your baked goods will have a better texture.
• Use an offset spatula to scrape and lift the dough rounds off the counter if they stick. Flour your surface and lift and turn the dough as you roll it out to prevent it from sticking.
• Use excess dough to patch any cracks in the tart shells. This shortcrust (pâte sucrée) dough is very soft and forgiving. You can patch up any cracks and you won't even notice it after baking.
• Chill the tart shells before baking. Since the dough will get warm while you roll it out and work with it, you should chill the tart shells until they're firm before baking. This helps the tart shells bake evenly and prevents them from shrinking too much.
• Let the ganache sit undisturbed for several minutes before stirring. You want most of the chocolate to melt before stirring it otherwise you'll end up with chunks of unmelted chocolate in the ganache. If some of the chocolate hasn't melted, very gently warm up the ganache in the microwave (short bursts!) or place it in a preheating oven for a few minutes.
• Let the ganache cool slightly before filling the tarts. The ganache should be slightly thickened but still pourable. Give it a stir before using it. If you use it while it's still hot, it might separate and you won't be able to stir it when it's already in the tart shells.

Frequently asked questions

More tart recipes to try

• Mini Lemon Meringue Tarts
• No-Bake S'mores Tart
• Strawberry Lemon Curd Tartlets
• Strawberry Custard Tart
• Peach Custard Tart

Recipe