Chocolate Truffle Tarts : 'Baking with Julia'

When I look at all the posts I have done till now, I am kinda puzzled as to how I have not done a single post with chocolate despite being a self-proclaimed chocoholic!! So, it seemed a good time to let my first post with chocolate be these absolutely divine, delicious and decadent chocolate truffle tarts that I had to make for the 'TWD:Baking with Julia' group.

These tarts are a chocolate lover's dream come true. Imagine this if you can -- it is essentially a chocolate dough tart filled with a decadent, truffle-like chocolate filling that also has bits of milk chocolate, white chocolate and biscotti in it!!! Seriously.. imagine that!!!!

I made half the quantity for this recipe, aiming to make 3 out of the 6 tarts that the original recipe made. And then decided instead to make 2 tarts and 2 tartlets. Don't ask me why I did that.. I just did!! For the chocolate dough, I omitted the egg and instead replaced the egg with 2 tbsps of cold water and it did the trick, I think, without altering the texture of the tarts. The filling was pretty straight forward although I left out the biscotti as I did not have any but I did put in the white chocolate and milk chocolate bits. 

When I put these tarts in the oven, I had no idea what to expect on how the filling would transform itself. At first I thought it would have a custard like consistency and then wondered if it would maybe have a brownie-like texture!??!? Well.. the answer was soon before us...

First things first, when I pulled them out, they looked exactly how they looked in the photograph in the book, complete with the little bits of white chocolate poking out of the top. But, the best part came with the first bite. The filling gets transformed into  this dark, intense and divine truffle with the tiny specks of white chocolate providing not only texture but also a beautiful visual contrast in the sea of dark chocolate. Come to think of it, I should have taken photographs of the tarts half-eaten...

If you love chocolate, these tarts are just for you. With a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, they would make a lovely dessert. I had made these just in time for my evening cup of coffee, and something about the intense chocolaty flavor of these tarts combined with the bitterness of the coffee made it an unbeatable combination. That's when I missed all my closest girl friends because these truffle tarts would be the perfect accompaniment for our coffee and gossip sessions!!

Due to copyright considerations, only the person hosting the recipe for the group 'TWD:Baking with Julia' can post the recipe on their blog. These truffle tarts will be available on the blogs of Steph, Spike, Jaime and Jessica. Alternately, you can write to me at bakerindisguise@gmail.com and I will mail you the recipe.