Chocolate and caramel tarts

I can’t really wrap my mind around the fact that college started… again. With all the changes happening in my life -like waking up early in the morning, making my own food and staying way to much at school- I really wanted to lift my spirit up; and what better way to do that than baking something with lots of chocolate in it? These tarts are the perfect excuse to indulge something sweet and savory at the same time, without compromising your happiness.

For the first time ever I betrayed my tart crust recipe and I went for the store bought one. Although it saved me some time, I am not that impressed by it; it tastes ok, I can’t complain, but for tartlets it’s not that efficient. You can’t reuse the leftovers that remain after cutting your small shapes, and I learned that the hard way. After rolling the dough again, it puffs up in the oven like crazy (time to switch to pizza bites haha). I still managed to ace 9 little cute tartlets shells tho!

The secret key to these lovely tarts is the layering factor. First you have the pie crust, which brings it all together, then you have the caramel sauce, the crunchy peanuts layer, the chocolate ganache and the caramel drizzle. And again some decorative peanuts. Boy that was a lot. Disclaimer: I don’t really care about calories (although I should), so I don’t mind the… boost in my daily intake, but if you are all about that stuff, you probably… should bake the tarts and change your mind. Tee-hee.

On another note… I really hope that I’m improving the food photography and editing technique, especially since I watched bromabakery’s tips for succeeding in this domain. In my opinion, the hardest thing to do is to find yourself and to find that something that makes you unique and different from all the other accounts that have the same theme. I am still working on that aspect… and most likely I will struggle with it for another period of time; but trying your best is what you should do, right?

The motto for today: sweet and savory, all in a shell- what else do you need?

Blueberry panna cotta tarts

There are a very few moments when I don’t want to eat tart; actually, if I think harder, I can’t find an example of such a situation, so it is safe to say I’m a sucker for this dessert (this may or may not be the reason why I post so many tarts recipes). This one in particular is a combination between a soft fruity filling and a consistent pie crust, topped with the fruits that are full of antioxidants- blueberries- so you can have as many as you want (it is pure health. do not argue).

I was a little skeptical at first about this, since I know that freshly made panna cotta is runny, and I was afraid that the tarts will soak or start pouring from every corner. The good thing is I haven’t experienced this nightmare with 95% percent of them; the rest of 5% was a single tart that had the crust cracked from when I took it out of the baking form (but I still ate it, of course). Otherwise, I can’t think of any other inconvenience you might encounter while making these tarts.

Reason n°999 for making this recipe: the color of the final product – who can resist this amazing shade of purple?? Especially since is all natural, no additional food dyes required. Decorate with some green mint leaves (complementary colors trick) and amaze all of your friends (or yourself) with your baking skills.

You can serve this panna cotta tarts with some forest fruits tea, if you feel fancy. This is my last suggestion. ENJOY!

Chocolate and caramel tartlets

Exams are over (at least for now), so let’s celebrate by eating some chocolate dessert! I couldn’t wait to share this recipe, but these days were so long and filled with studying that I didn’t find the time to edit and post something… But now I’m back at it! If you thought that a chocolate tart is awesome, wait till you try this caramel filled dream with an Oreo crust. I’m drooling even when I think about it.

With this recipe I finally nailed the crumbled biscuit base; it didn’t fall apart when I took it off the tartlets tins and it stuck together like it was glued. So, I guess that’s a win for me. The secret is to grind the biscuits really well (keeping the cream also) and to mix in the melted butter while it’s still warm and liquid. Then you will be able to shape the tart crust easily, using a spoon and your own hands. The next step is to cool down in the fridge, but I kept mine in the freezer, so the whole process would take less time.

Next step is the caramel sauce; I bought mine from Dr. Oetker, only because I was to lazy to make my own- after all, the blog is called “the lazy bakes”, right? (pls don’t hate me). Pour the filling in, 1/2 of the tart crust, and let it cool again.

The last step is to prepare a chocolate ganache; I cannot tell you what a difference makes the kind of chocolate you use to prepare this cream! Stick with the real baking chocolate, the one that has over 50% cocoa, and you will have perfect results. When I made these, I was cheap and went for the “cocoa bars” that they were selling in the baking section (you know, the ones with 12% cocoa or less) and they made my ganache runny and… I don’t know, it wasn’t right.

To finish off this long post, I will just say that YOU. MUST. TRY. THIS. Trust me, you will never go back to your old chocolate desserts after you tried this one.

 

Pomegranate tartlets

I had some pomegranates laying around in the fridge since forever, and no time to bake something with them. But the moment has come; dressed in a grey shirt (definitely not white) and armed with a knife, I began cutting the pomegranates. I don’t know why, but everytime I work with this fruits everything looks like a crime scene; the red splash gets on walls, clothes, knife… you can’t hide it. Muhaha.

 

This recipe combines the sweetness of the vanilla with the sourness of the pomegranate in a way you’ll never forget. I mean, what’s better than a little contrast in your life?

I baked the tartlets forms 3 days ahead of making the cream and I kept writing in my planner that I need to *finish the dessert*, but that didn’t happen; I simply had to much work to do and I couldn’t find the time to just go in the kitchen and do it. Or I was too lazy to go to the supermarket and buy milk and eggs. But when I finally did it, the stars aligned; the vanilla cream came out so smooth! The thing is you don’t have to overfill the tarts, or else the glaze will drip off the cakes (completely). That happened to me. Finished them in the morning, when I took the pictures, served them at evening – they where left with a halo of pink glaze.

I very much enjoyed this dessert as it remembered me of the tarts I used to get when I was little from the city’s bakery; little did I know that one day I will be able to make them myself. If you try them out, feel free to use any kind of fruits you like: berries, strawberries or kiwis; just enjoy!

 

Berry vanilla cream tartlets

I’ve been traveling for a while and I couldn’t bake something new and exciting and I am kinda sorry, but I will make it up to myself the next days. Meanwhile, I thought I could share this recipe that made my summer days better (sort of a throwback Thursday).

These tartlets are the perfect combination of sweet and sour, and I absolutely enjoy the fact that they are portion-sized… that kinda makes them easier to pop into your mouth at any time of the day. But lets take it from the beginning: you should start with patience, cause it will take a while to place the dough in every tart-shaped tray you own. Keep the rage and use it when you stab them with a fork, so they won’t grow in your oven and transform in weird fat cookies.

Mix, bake, wait, fill, decorate. Tadaa!

I really hope everyone gets to make and taste at least once in their lives these kind of tarts, because they’re absolutely fantastic! I’m done bragging. You can try it for yourself, the recipe is below!

Romana:

Pentru o perioada de timp, calatoria a luat locul oricarui alt hobby, asa ca nu am avut timp sa gatesc nimic nou si interesant; mi-am promis ca ma voi revansa. Intre timp,      m-am gandit sa impartasesc reteta care m-a incantat in zilele de vara – un fel de sa ne amintim cum era in vacanta.

Tartele acestea sunt combinatia perfecta intre dulce si acrisor, iar dimensiunea lor le face mai usor de praduit din frigider in orice moment al zilei. Ar trebui totusi sa incep cu inceputul: reteta necesita rabdare, caci ia ceva timp asezarea in forme a aluatului. Enervarea poate fi folosita in momentul in care se inteapa aluatul cu furculita pentru a nu creste la copt, transformand tartele in niste biscuiti deformati.

Amesteca, coace, asteapta, umple, decoreaza. Tadaa!

Sper ca toata lumea sa prepare si sa guste macar o data in viata tartele acestea, pentru ca sunt cu adevarat fantastice! Acum am terminat cu ridicatul in slavi. Te poti convinge si tu ca nu faceam asta degeaba, reteta e mai jos!