Guest contribution by Lena Zachs, master pastry chef from Burgenland, Austria.
As is well known, “The way to a man’s (woman’s) heart is through his (her) stomach.”
And because eating is a visual pleasure too, this year, for Valentine’s Day, I’m making fine chocolate-orange tartlets in heart shape.
For the desserts, two layers of fine chocolate shortcrust pastry are stacked with an equally chocolate cream. The infusion of dark chocolate and passion fruit-orange gives these components a wonderfully fruity citrus note. Hidden inside is a refreshing fruit core made of oranges, which also serves as decoration.
A perfect match!
For the tartlets, you don’t need a special baking mold, just a heart-shaped cookie cutter. It also works with any other shape (circles, flowers, stars, etc.). Depending on the size of the cutter, this recipe makes about 8 desserts.
For the fruit core, I use the plant-based gelling agent agar-agar. It is important to use pure agar-agar to achieve the right consistency. Please check the ingredient list before baking.
Chocolate-Orange Tartlets – The Recipe
Ingredients for the Chocolate Cream:
- 500 g heavy cream
- 130 g Infusion “Dark Chocolate + Passion Fruit-Orange”
- Zest from one orange
- 20 g honey
For the Orange Fruit Core:
- 200 g freshly squeezed orange juice
- 4 g agar-agar
- 40 g sugar
For the Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry:
- 40 g infusion “Dark Chocolate + Passion Fruit-Orange“
- 85 g soft butter
- 70 g powdered sugar
- 30 g ground almonds
- 1 small egg
- 2 g salt
- 225 g flour
To Finish:
- 1 orange
- Infusion “Dark Chocolate + Passion Fruit-Orange“
Preparation:
- Bring 250 g of heavy cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Add the orange zest and honey, then emulsify with an immersion blender.
- Stir in the remaining 250 g of heavy cream and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours, or preferably overnight.
- Mix the agar-agar with the sugar and whisk into the orange juice. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly and also refrigerate overnight.
- Melt the chocolate and mix with the butter. Gradually add the remaining ingredients and quickly knead into a dough. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F) convection.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out hearts.
- Place with enough space on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10 minutes.
- Blend the fruit core with an immersion blender to achieve a smooth consistency.
- Whip the chocolate cream, fill a piping bag fitted with a round tip, and pipe small dots onto the first shortcrust base, leaving the center open to fill with the fruit core.
- Place the second shortcrust on top and pipe small dots again—this time over the entire surface.
- Dip a small “Paris spoon” in hot water, dry it briefly, and gently press into the cream to create indentations. Fill these with the fruit core.
- Grate the zest of the orange. Slice the inside of the orange into wedges and place them on the cream. Break the chocolate into small pieces and distribute them over the tartlets.
Chocolate used in this product: InFusion Orange + Passion Fruit in Cacao
About Lena Zachs:
Lena Zachs is a master pastry chef from Burgenland in Austria. In her bakery, she creates French-inspired desserts to order, using organic and preferably regional ingredients. To utilize seasonal raw materials throughout the year, she continually comes up with new creations and recipes, which are now also featured here on the Zotter blog.
