While preparing a meal for some family friends who are returning to Britian for a short stay to visit and catch up with everyone I was torn between what best to serve them, then remembering how much Helen loved chocolate desserts and how we would sneak in a dessert with a coffee when ever we hit the shops together in the past.

I had prepared a soup starter made from beautiful fresh brocolli and some superb local stilton I had fetched specially from our local deli, for main we had a indulgent lamb roast as this was always Helen’s and Tom’s favourite when they would come over to mine to eat. So I wanted a dessert they could take a memory back to singapore with them. I came up with a Chocolate truffle tart which I have to say was ’sinfully delicious’ and went down a treat!

So for a superb melt in the mouth pastry filled with velvety chocolate you will need: 500g shortcrust pastry (homemade or brought. Always keep a pack of pastry in the freezer for unexpected guests), 115ml Double Cream, 75ml full fat milk, 2 tbsp Tia Maria Liquer ( you can use another Liquer if you have a favourite), 115g dark 70% chocolate (broken into pieces) I love green & blacks variety, 12 cherries (fresh, frozen, tinned or glazed) and single cream ot a indulgent homemade ice cream to serve.  Remember if you have a dairy intolerance replace cows milk and cream with soya alternatives or a variety you use, same with the pastry use your flour if you are wheat intolerant etc.

Preheat your oven to 180 C/ 350 F/ gas 4 then on a floured surface roll out your pastry to around 6mm thick and cut out 4 circles with a 15cm cutter or a saucer and place in 4 10cm round tart tins.

These  Faringdon Set of 4 Non-Stick Individual Quiche/Tart Pans are perfect for tarts and quiches.

Place your parchment paper and baking beans into your pastry cases and bake blind for 25 mins then without the beans and parchment for a further 10 minutes and then leave to cool. (Check out my previous blogs on baking and freezing pastry cases for ease of baking)

Meanwhile in a pan bring 50ml cream and the milk just to the boil, remove from the heat and stir in the Tia Maria and whisk in chocolate until smooth and cool. Lightly whip the remaining cream and fold in the cooled chocolate mis and spoon this into the tart cases. Level the tops and chill in the refridgerator for about 3 hours. Top with your cherries (if using fresh leave the stalks in for a fantastic display and you can dust with icing sugar or cocoa and serve with either cream of ice cream of your choice.

Helen and Tom loved this dessert and together with the rich red wine we had a terrific evening of great food and company along with some terrific memories!

You can take this dessert and make a variety of flavours why not try adding a orange liquer and topping with orange slices, or you can add a mint liquer and top with mint leaves the varieties are endless so why not experiment and let me know which version you have tried and which is you favourite?