This is another festive season and there are quite a number of Lunar New Year gathering. I take it as an opportunity to try some new bakes and there are people to help me finish my bakes, no waste. I browsed through some of the links I saved and decided on tarte au chocolate by Anna Olson, but I gave it a citrus twist by adding citrus peels. It turned out not too sweet and the citrus peels complemented the chocolate really well. Oh, I digressed. Here’s the basic chocolate pastry that can be baked into cookies too.

(Makes one 9 inch tart)

Ingredients

  • 120g cake flour
  • 115g unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 60g icing sugar sifted
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Method

  1. Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Cream butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy.
  3. Add the yolks and cream to combine.
  4. Add the sifted flours and mix till just combined.
  5. Shape the dough into a disc and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours or freeze till ready to use. The day before I use the dough, I thaw it in the normal compartment in the fridge and take it out of the fridge 20 minutes before rolling.

This is a very short pastry and needs time to rest in the fridge before using.