Sometimes the recipes that you aren’t planning to make end up being the best recipes that need their moment to shine! This is one of those recipes. These Caramilk Ganache Easter Tartlets were created using ingredients that were left after the wrap up of all my client Easter work this year. The Easter projects came flying at me this year and all up I shot 15 recipes for clients in a few weeks. I loved making and shooting things like these Easter Churro Bunny Cupcakes & Hot Cross Cinnamon Scrolls for Queen Fine Foods, or this Top Deck Mousse Tart or Maple Pumpkin Walnut Tart for Careme Pastry, but at the end of it I had a surplus of mini Easter eggs and my all time favourite pastry, the Carême Dark Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry.
Just a quick aside about this pastry – when defrosted it smells just like a block of dark chocolate and is one of the easiest and most delicious pastry sheets to work with. Careme had a hiatus from making this pastry for a little while but they resumed production of late last year after people kept requesting it (me included!).
I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to make ganache tartlets with the left over pastry and choccy eggs so with chocolate stores depleted in my studio, I headed to the supermarket. I went in for dark chocolate but was fearing that the little chocolate eggs would get lost amongst the dark chocolate pastry and chocolate ganache. But then, I spied a Cadburys Caramilk chocolate block and realised it was exactly what the tarts needed! If you aren’t familiar with Caramilk chocolate its basically caramelised white chocolate which was discontinued in Australia a little while ago but was brought back in 2019, much to everyone’s delight.
I seriously cannot express in words how incredible the crisp dark chocolate and silky caramelised white chocolate ganache go together. When the little filled easter eggs are set inside the experience is an Easter explosion in your mouth. It is the PERFECT special occasion dessert that can be made a day or two before Easter and requires only 5 ingredients.
Caramilk Ganache Easter Tartlets
Ingredients
- 1 (300g packet) Carême Dark Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry, defrosted
- 18 small chocolate easter eggs
Caramilk Ganache
- 140g Cadbury Caramilk Chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 200ml thickened cream
- 40g unsalted butter
Directions
Preheat oven to 160°C (180°C conventional). Unroll the pastry, place it onto a lightly dusted work surface, then dust with flour. Roll pastry out evenly to a sheet size of approximately 27cm x 36cm. Line 6 mini tart tins (10cm round x 3cm high) with pastry, gently pushing it into the tins. Trim the pastry until it is level with the top of the tins, then place the tart cases into the freezer for 20 minutes.
Line the tarts with baking paper and baking weights (or chickpeas), making sure you fill the weights to the top of your tart to support the sides during baking. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove the paper and weights. Brush the base of the tarts with egg, then bake for an additional 10 minutes until the pastry is crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
CARAMILK GANACHE
Chop chocolate into small pieces and place into a metal bowl. Add the cream into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in short bursts until just boiling. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate, then add the butter. Let the mixture stand for 1 minute to allow the chocolate and butter to melt, then whisk the mixture until completely combined and smooth. Divide the mixture evenly between the 6 tart cases, then add 3 chocolate easter eggs to each tart case. Place into the fridge for 1 ½ - 2 hours until the ganache has set. Serve.
