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Chocolate Tartlets

Chocolate tartlets made with a short crust and chocolate filling, topped with chocolate icing.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Chocolate Tartlets

Why it works: Chocolate and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Chocolate Tartlets

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately hot oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make the filling

  1. Cream the egg yolks and sugar together until well combined.

  2. Add the cake crumbs, grated chocolate, cornflour, and melted butter; mix well.

  3. Whip the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the mixture.

Line, bake and ice

  1. Line 12 patty pans with the short crust paste.

  2. Fill the lined pans with the mixture and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

  3. Once cooled, cover each tartlet with chocolate icing and allow it to harden before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Chocolate + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,543 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Yolks add richness and binding, while whipped whites trap air that lifts the filling.
Cornflour
Starch sets the filling and gives the tartlets a tender, firm structure.
Butter
Fat adds richness and moisture, keeping the tartlets tender.
Grated chocolate
Provides the main chocolate flavour and adds richness to the filling.
Castor sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the yolks blend into a smooth base.
Cake crumbs
Add body and softness to the filling.

The step that matters

Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that makes the filling light. Stirring vigorously or overmixing deflates the foam, so the tartlets bake up dense and heavy instead of lifted.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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