Gordon Ramsay’s Chocolate Tarts

Ramsay has two chocolate tart recipes: individual mini tarts from his YouTube video with a no-bake ganache filling, and a full-sized baked chocolate tart from Passion for Flavour that he calls “the best chocolate tart ever.” Both are on this page because both start with melted chocolate and cream, but they end up in very different places.

The mini tarts are the easier version. Shortcrust pastry baked blind in individual tins, filled with a three-ingredient ganache of dark chocolate, cream and butter, then chilled until set. Ramsay shows the full process in his YouTube video and calls them “so easy, so indulgent.”

Pricking the base before blind baking stops the pastry puffing up, because trapped air underneath pushes the pastry into a dome with nowhere to go. Ramsay rests the lined cases in the fridge before they go in the oven, which tightens the butter so the pastry holds its shape rather than shrinking.

Gordon Ramsay’s Individual Chocolate Tarts

Recipe by Sophie LaneCourse: DessertCuisine: British, FrenchDifficulty: Medium

Servings

6-8

tarts

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

320

kcal

Total time

35 min + chilling

Mini chocolate tarts from Ramsay’s YouTube video. Blind-baked shortcrust pastry filled with a three-ingredient ganache of dark chocolate, double cream and butter. No eggs, no fuss.

Ingredients

• For the pastry:

• 125g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

• 60g (¼ cup) caster sugar (superfine sugar)

• 1 free-range egg

• 200g (1⅔ cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour), plus extra for dusting

• For the chocolate filling:

• 200g (7 oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces

• 150ml (⅔ cup) double cream (heavy cream)

• 25g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter

Directions

• Make the pastry: Cream the butter and sugar until soft. Beat in the egg, then fold in the flour until just combined. Turn onto a floured surface, knead lightly, shape into a disc and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Line the tins: Roll out the pastry to about 3mm (⅛ inch) thick. Cut into discs and press gently into lightly greased loose-bottomed mini tart tins. Prick the bases with a fork and rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Blind bake: Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake the cases for 12-15 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove and cool in the tins.
• Make the filling: Set a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Add the chocolate, cream and butter. Stir slowly until melted, glossy and smooth.
• Fill and set: Pour the chocolate filling into the cooled pastry cases. Tap each tin gently on the worktop to level the surface. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour until set.
• Serve: Remove from tins and serve with crème fraîche, ice cream or simply on their own.

Notes

The Passion for Flavour cookbook has a restaurant version using a 21cm tart tin with eggs beaten into the ganache and baked at 130°C for 25 minutes. That gives a firmer, more structured set. This video version is softer and more forgiving because the filling sets in the fridge rather than the oven.

Gordon Ramsay’s Baked Chocolate Tart

This is the restaurant version from Passion for Flavour. Ramsay writes that it is “slim, dark and delicious” with “a thin, crisp pastry case that contrasts sublimely with a velvety ganache.” Serves 8-10.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 125g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) butter, softened
• 75g (⅔ cup) icing sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
• Zest of 1 orange
• 2 free-range egg yolks
• 1 tsp orange flower water
• 250g (2 cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour)

For the filling:

• 400g (14 oz) dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids), finely chopped
• 150ml (⅔ cup) whole milk
• 250ml (1 cup) double cream (heavy cream)
• 2 free-range eggs, beaten

To serve:

• Whipped cream
• Candied orange peel

Method

1. Roll the pastry and line a 21cm (9 inch) loose-bottomed flan tin. Prick the base, cover with foil and baking beans, then chill for 20 minutes.
2. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Remove foil and beans, trim the edges and patch any tears. Return for 5 minutes until it starts to colour.
3. Brush with egg wash and bake 3 more minutes to seal the pastry.
4. Lower oven to 130°C (250°F). Put the chocolate in a bowl. Bring the milk and cream to the boil, pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
5. Add the beaten eggs, whisk again and strain through a fine sieve.
6. Pour into the case on the oven shelf. Bake for 25 minutes until the surface starts to set. Turn off the oven and leave the tart inside for 30 more minutes.
7. Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream and candied orange peel.

FAQs

Which version should you make?

The mini tarts are better for a dinner party because each guest gets their own and there is nothing to cut. They take less time and the filling sets in the fridge rather than the oven, so there is less risk of overbaking.

The large baked tart is better for a crowd because one tart serves 8-10 and slices like a professional dessert. It takes longer and needs more precision, but the texture is firmer and more refined. The mint chocolate truffles use the same cream-and-chocolate ganache as the mini tarts, so if you can make one you already know how the other works.

Why does the baked version use eggs but the mini version does not?

The eggs in the Passion for Flavour filling act as a setting agent that firms the ganache when it bakes. Without them the filling would stay liquid in the oven. The mini version skips eggs because it sets by chilling instead, which gives a softer, more fudgy texture.

If you want the large tart to be softer, you could try the fridge method with no eggs, but the filling will not hold its shape when sliced. The eggs are what let you cut a clean wedge.

How do you get the filling perfectly smooth?

Melt everything over a bain-marie rather than directly on the hob, because gentle steam heat melts the chocolate slowly without scorching it. Stir in one direction to avoid trapping air bubbles, and the filling should look glossy before you pour.

If the ganache splits, add a tablespoon of warm cream and stir until it comes together. The chocolate soufflé from The F Word melts chocolate the same way before folding into whisked eggs, so the bain-marie is a technique Ramsay returns to across several desserts.

Can you use milk chocolate instead of dark?

The mini tarts use 70% dark and the large tart uses 60% dark, so Ramsay already adjusts the bitterness between versions. Milk chocolate would make either version much sweeter and the set softer because it has less cocoa butter.

If you switch, reduce the sugar in the pastry by half to keep the sweetness balanced. The blondies from UHC show what happens when you use white chocolate in baking: a completely different sweetness profile.

What other chocolate desserts does Ramsay make?

The chocolate brownies from BSK are denser because they fold melted chocolate into a batter with eggs and flour. These tarts are lighter because the filling is pure ganache with no flour at all.

All of them start with melted dark chocolate and cream. The difference is what goes in after: nothing for truffles, butter for mini tarts, eggs for baked tarts, eggs and flour for brownies. The pear tarte tatin from MasterChef takes the pastry-and-filling concept in a completely different direction with caramelised fruit.