Second Helpings #22 Chocolate Soufflé Tarts with Salted Caramel Tarts

A throw back to a favourite recipe

The other day, over on Instagram, I saw someone posting a chocolate tart recipe that looked incredible; so much so that I was inspired to get back into the kitchen (not that I ever leave) and make one myself. Instead of making something new, I went back into the archives and found a recipe I came up with years ago, which hasn’t seen the light of day in rather a long time.

The recipe comes from my book Patisserie Made Simple which originally came out in 2014 and is, rather unfortunately, out of print these days (I believe you can still buy a copy on Kindle). This recipe did get used in any of the media around the book, which is a shame as it was one of my favourites from the book, so I thought it was time the recipe was dusted off and given the love it deserves.

The recipe is made with a classic sweet pastry, made with icing sugar and ground almonds to give it a melt-in-the-mouth quality. The filling is a layer of salted caramel, that stays liquid once served, and is hidden below a layer of flourless chocolate cake, a souffle-like mixture that is incredibly light. I like to serve these tarts still a little warm alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

To make the tarts I originally used individual tart rings, to give a more professional-looking finish, but unless you fancy buying new equipment the more common, 10cm wide, loose-bottom tart tins work wonderfully.