Chocolate Blackberry Tartlets

Hello! I’m a new contributor here at Cake Journal, where I’ll be sharing recipes for everything from ice cream to pastries to candy – all things sweet, with the notable exception of cake, since I think you’d agree that the other contributors here have that subject pretty well covered.

Although I’m new here, I’ve been blogging recipes both sweet and savory at Katie at the Kitchen Door for almost four years. I’m excited to join the team here at Cake Journal – and my friends are certainly thrilled that I’ll have more sweets than usual to share with them.

To kick things off, I have the perfect dessert recipe for summer entertaining. Easy but elegant, these chocolate mousse and blackberry tartlets make the most of summer berries, look stunning, taste decadent, and don’t require use of the oven.

The crust is a simple mix of crushed Oreos and melted butter, pressed into tartlet pans and frozen until firm. The mousse is simpler than classic chocolate mousse, which can get tricky with the sabayon preparation – here, all you need to do is melt some chocolate with a little bit of butter and fold it into whipped cream, before spreading it into the tartlets.

A thin layer of blackberry jam between the crust and the mousse gives a winey hit of juicy berry flavor, which is echoed by the fresh berries on top. These can easily be prepared in 30 minutes, then chilled for another 30 minutes before serving. And voila! You will have super-impressed dinner guests.

Ingredients

• 12 chocolate Oreos
• 6 TBS salted butter, divided
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cups plus 1 TBS heavy cream, divided
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1/2 c. blackberry jam
• one 6-oz container of fresh blackberries

Instructions

1. Place the Oreos in a food processor and pulse several times until they are finely ground. Melt 4 TBS of the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stovetop (over low heat). Pour the melted butter into the Oreo crumbs, and pulse a few times to blend. Divide the Oreo mixture between six 3 or 4-inch tartlet pans, pressing them into a crust of even thickness on the bottoms and up the sides. Freeze the pans for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to assemble tarts.
2. Place the remaining 2 TBS of butter, the chocolate chips, and 1 TBS of the heavy cream into a small saucepan. Bring a large saucepan full of water to a simmer over medium-high heat, then place the small saucepan with the chocolate over the simmering water. Stirring the whole time, melt the chocolate until it is smooth and runny, then remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Discard the simmering water.
3. Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a medium bowl, and whisk or beat on high until it starts to foam. Sprinkle the cream of tartar and the sugar over the top, then beat until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the room temperature chocolate into the cream until the chocolate is mostly incorporated – a few remaining white streaks are fine. Don’t over mix, or you will deflate the cream. Set aside.
4. Place the blackberry jam in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until runny. Spoon 1 1/2 TBS of the jam into each frozen crust, then top off with the chocolate mousse, smoothing the top. Garnish with a few fresh blackberries, then refrigerate the tartlets for at least 30 minutes, or until ready to serve.