These peanut butter tarts have a sweet pastry base, a delicious peanut butter and chocolate filling and are piled high with light Italian meringue, which is then torched for a crispy outer shell and soft marshmallowy centre.
For the tarts, I used pastry rings with a 10cm diameter. You could also use Yorkshire pudding tins or just make one large pastry base.
Sweet Pastry
- 200g plain flour
- 100g unsalted butter
- 50g caster sugar
- 3 egg yolks (reserve the egg whites for the meringue)
Weigh out the flour, butter and sugar in to a bowl. Use your fingers to rub the ingredients together until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolks and mix together until it forms a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.
Whilst the dough is chilling, grease your dough rings with butter (be generous as the butter is needed for the pastry to stick to the sides). Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the rings on ready.
Once the pastry has chilled, roll it out until its about the thickness of a pound coin. Use a cutter that is larger than your tart rings to cut out circles of dough. Place the dough inside the tart ring and press it evenly in to the bottom and the sides. If you haven’t put enough butter on, the pastry won’t stick to the sides – if this happens, just remove the pastry and grease the tart ring with more butter. Use a sharp knife to remove the excess pastry from the top of the ring. Repeat for the remaining 3 rings, then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan oven).
Take out of the fridge and prick the bottom of the tart rings with a fork. Then take some greaseproof paper and line the tarts with the paper (this works better if you scrumple it up first). Then fill generously with baking beans or rice. Place in the oven to bake for about 12 minutes. Then remove the paper and the beans and bake the empty tartlets for a further 4-6 minutes until they have dried out and are fully baked. Leave to cool fully in the rings.
For the chocolate and peanut butter filling…
- 150g milk chocolate
- 150g double cream
- 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 30g unsalted butter
Break up the chocolate in to a bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until it is hot and steaming, pour over the chocolate and leave for a couple of minutes so the chocolate starts to melt. Start to whisk the chocolate cream until it becomes a smooth mixture. Add the peanut butter and the butter and whisk until smooth.
Spoon the mixture evenly in to the cooled pastry tarts. Tap lightly on the work surface to remove any air bubbles, then pop in the fridge to set.
Italian Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 200g caster sugar
- 5 tbsp water
Place the egg whites ready in a mixer with a whisk attachment. In a saucepan, start to gently heat the sugar and water mixture. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat and pop your sugar thermometer in. When the mixture reaches 115°C, start whisking up the egg whites until they reach the soft peak stage. When the sugar reaches 118°C, pour carefully into the egg whites (keep the mixer whisking on a low speed). Then turn up to high speed and whisk until the mixture is stiff, glossy and has cooled down (about 10 minutes).
With a small palette knife, spread a small amount of meringue evenly over each tart, right to the edge of the pastry. This creates a neater edge for the tarts.
Then dollop the remaining meringue on top of each tart. Use a palette knife to spread about over the top and create a bit of texture.
Now it’s time to blowtorch! If you don’t have one, it can be done under the grill but it will be more difficult to control. Torch the meringue as much or as little as you like and they are ready to eat!
