TWD: Chocolate Truffle Tartlets

Last month, an announcement went out into the Twitterverse that the Tuesdays with Dorie gang were about to start on a new cookbook, and were actively recruiting new members to join in on the adventure.

As soon as I saw which cookbook they’d picked, there was absolutely no question in mind that I absolutely needed to get in this action.

That cookbook, you see, is Baking with Julia, which is my number one go-to reference for basic baking techniques, along with foolproof recipes for basic essentials like pie crusts, breads and cakes.  Along with Joy of Cooking (the 1970-something classic edition, please), it’s an absolute must-have for anyone with a cookbook shelf and a kitchen at their disposal.

Even though my copy is full of little Post-It page-markers, though, so far I’ve only made a handful of recipes – most of which are those aforementioned basics.  So I’m hoping that TWD will finally give me a reason to try all the fancier recipes I’ve drooled over but have yet to make… though I may kick myself when the wedding cake recipe rolls around. :)

This month’s recipes were White Loaves and Chocolate Truffle Tartlets, and since I couldn’t fit the loaves into my schedule, I had not choice but to make the tartlets instead.

Man, the things I do for the sake of this blog. :)

Because this is my first TWD post, I decided to pull out all the stops. I used my Soma Chocolatier dutched cocoa powder for the crust and snagged three cookies from the tin of pretty paper-wrapped amaretti we normally save for special occasions. I even cracked open the precious bar of Scharffenberger 70% semi-sweet baking chocolate I’d been hoarding for the past few months.

I was really pleased with how quickly the crust came together using the food processor method, and with the fact that it struck a perfect balance between chocolatey and sweet.

The filling was also relatively easy to prepare, and it definitely lives up to its name – like a good truffle, it’s intensely chocolatey, incredibly rich, and not too sweet (especially given that the 70% Scharffenberger isn’t the slightest bit sweet). Texture-wise, it reminds me a little of those dense chocolate truffle cakes that were all the rage back in the 90s.

The final verdict? Actually, kind of disappointing, to be brutally honest.  The filling and the crust are both quite good in their own right, but together they’re just overwhelmingly rich and chocolatey.

The crumbled amaretti and the chunks of milk and white chocolate provide a bit of textural contrast, but this much dark chocolate calls for something a little more assertive… whipped cream or fresh berries, perhaps, but unfortunately I didn’t have either on hand.

Mind you, this is probably more about my own personal preferences than the recipe itself.  I’ve never been one for overwhelmingly sweet desserts… I’m just more of a tangy lemon tart kinda gal, I guess.  The crust recipe is definitely a keeper, but next time around I’ll probably pair it with a raspberry curd filling or with a layer of sweet mascarpone topped with fresh berries.

In keeping with TWD’s ground rules, I’m not sharing the recipe.  However, if you’d like to try these tartlets out for yourself, the recipe is on page 382 of Baking with Julia (or you can visit our hosts Steph, Spike, Jaime and Jessica to get the recipe from their blogs)

But really, you should just go buy the book, dammit. You won’t regret it.