Chilli chocolate and almond mousse tarts

Makes 6 Desserts and puddings

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Method

First prepare the decoration. Line a tray with foil. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water without the base touching the water. Melt for 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Paint the underside of the holly leaves thinly with chocolate, lay on the prepared tray and chill until firmly set.

Roughly crush the ice and put in a bowl. Drizzle some of the remaining chocolate thickly over the crushed ice then put in the fridge. As soon as the chocolate sets, carefully remove the pieces, which will look like twigs. Lay on kitchen paper and chill. Pour any water off the ice, which will have partly melted, and repeat the drizzling process until you have just enough chocolate twigs to decorate the tarts. Store in an airtight container in a cool place.

Re-melt the remaining chocolate and paint a little more on to the holly leaves, then return them to the fridge. When the chocolate is hard, gently peel the leaves away and store the chocolate holly with the twigs.

Preheat the oven to 190C/ 170C F/Gas 5. Make the pastry. Put the flour, a pinch of salt and the icing sugar in a food processor and pulse to aerate. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the texture resembles fine crumbs. Add the yolks and 1tbsp water and pulse again until the mixture just comes together. Tip on to a sheet of cling film and flatten, cover and chill for about 30 minutes or firm enough to roll out easily.

Cut the pastry into 6 pieces, then roll out a piece at a time and line 6 loose-bottomed, fluted 9.5cm wide x 3cm deep tart tins. Line the pastry with circles of scrunched up baking paper to come up the sides, fill with baking or ceramic beans and bake blind for 15-20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper and brush the insides with the egg white, then return to the oven for a further 5–8 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and loosen the pastry shells but leave in the tins (this will ensure easy un-moulding when the filling has cooked). Lower the temperature to 180C/160C F/Gas 4. To make the filling, put the chocolate and butter in a small bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water, without letting the base touch the water, for 5 minutes, then stir in the cocoa powder and ground almonds.

Whisk the 2 whole eggs and 1 yolk with 100g of the sugar until the mixture leaves a trail, then fold in the chocolate mixture.

Whisk the remaining egg white until soft peaks form and add the remaining 25g sugar, a little at a time, until firm. Gently fold it into the chocolate and egg mixture. Spoon into the tart tins and bake for 9-10 minutes until the top crisps and cracks a little. Allow to get cold before removing from the tins.

Decorate each tart with chocolate twigs and a leaf, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

This recipe was taken from the Christmas 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.