What do you get when you combine a creamy french silk pie filling with a crispy graham cracker crust and a toasted marshmallow topping? You get these. Bite-sized Mini S’mores Tarts. The cutest miniature rendition of a tart in the entire world, and probably one of the tastiest too! Each component is super easy to make in its own right, and when you put them all together, the result is magic.
If the picture and the description aren’t enough for you, maybe the ability to use a blowtorch will entice you to make these. Yes, you read that right. A. Blow. Torch. They’re the most exciting tool in the kitchen, and I get a kick out of it every single time. If you don’t have a blow torch, you can just leave the topping un-toasted, or you can (dangerously) attempt to hold the tart upside-down over a lighter and try not to burn yourself or completely melt the tart. This is a method that, though I have done it, I definitely do NOT recommend it.
What I do recommend though, is making these mini s’mores tarts. They’re so simplistic but sure to wow anyone who encounters them. The french silk filling gives the tarts a sense of elegance, and I love how fancy they feel. Because of this, I personally think they are the perfect treat for a nice dinner party dessert. However, I do think they can be dressed up or down according to the occasion, and I am 100% sure a child would love these at a birthday party as well. With the cool lightness of the filling and the exciting crunchiness of the crust, it yields a very lovely mouth-feel that will leave you wanting more… and more, and more.
How can I improve my mini s’mores tarts?
To make sure that you are getting the most out of your tart, invest in quality ingredients. Sure you could use a generic chocolate for the filling, but your tart won’t live up to its full potential. What differentiates a good tart from a great tart is quality. If you go to the store and splurge just a bit, your tarts will be awe-inspiring. I would recommend Ghiradelli or Lindt chocolate to really jazz up your tarts. These brands provide a chocolate that brings a creaminess to the filling that I have not experienced with cheaper chocolate. Another great place to get quality chocolate is Aldi. I know that Aldi has a great European snack section. This section is where you can find delicious chocolates that are as good as name-brand chocolate for an even better price! I know spending more money on baking ingredients is a pain… but trust me, a dollar or two won’t make or break you, but it might make or break your tart.
Mini S’mores Tarts
Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- 6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (melted)
For the Chocolate Filling:
- ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 6 ounces Milk Chocolate
- 2 Eggs
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- 6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
For the Marshmallow Fluff:
- 2 Egg Whites
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Cream of Tartar
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a muffin pan with muffin wrappers.
- Melt the butter using your preferred method (i.e. in a pan, in the microwave, etc). Set aside and let cool.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar until homogeneous.
- Pour your cooled butter into the crumb mixture and stir together until all of the crumbs are moist with oil and no dry crumbs remain.
- Using a spoon, divide the mixture evenly into each of the 12 muffin wrappers in the pan. Using your fingers, pat the crumbs to fit to the mold of the muffin cup, and make sure you build up the walls f the crust about a half of an inch high or more, about to the top of the muffin liner.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes. Set aside to cool and move on to making the filling.
For the Filling:
- Melt the chocolate using your preferred method (either in a double boiler or in a microwave). Set aside to cool.
- While the chocolate is cooling, in a clean, medium-sized bowl (or to the bowl of a stand mixer) add the whipping cream. Whip the cream using a whisk, a stand mixer, or a hand mixer until you achieve stiff peaks (this will take about 4 minutes with a hand-mixer). Be careful not to over-whip. Place the bowl of whipped cream in the fridge to be used later.
- In a double boiler on the stove, add your eggs and sugar. Because we are not cooking the filling, we want to bring the eggs to a temperature of 160°F to rid them of any bad bacteria that they might be carrying. To do this, continuously whisk the egg mixture in the double boiler until a thermometer reads 160°F. Be careful. You want to make sure you keep whisking the entire time, or else the eggs might begin to cook and coagulate (YUCK!).
- When the egg mix has come to temperature, take it off the heat and set aside to cool for about 5-10 minutes.
- After 5-10 minutes, pour the cool but still melted chocolate into the egg mixture and whisk well until totally combined. Set aside.
- In a separate, clean, large bowl, add your butter and salt. Using a hand mixer, beat your butter and salt together until the butter is light and fluffy and you can verify that it is about room temperature meaning there are no clumps of hard, cold, butter. Once you ensure that the butter is completely creamy and the salt is incorporated, slowly stream in the chocolate/egg mixture from earlier, mixing the entire time. Once all of the chocolate/egg mix is added in, beat for an additional minute or so to help keep the mixture light and fluffy.
- Take the whipped cream out of the fridge and gently fold in half of it into the mixture. Once the first half is totally incorporated, add the second half and fold in GENTLY, until no white streaks of cream remain.
- Dollop out spoonfuls of the filling into the cooled graham cracker crusts. Fill the crust entirely but keep the filling level, do not pile it higher than the edges of the tart.
- Place tarts in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Move on to making the marshmallow fluff.
For the Marshmallow Fluff:
- In a double boiler, add the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar
- Whisk this in the double boiler until the mixture feels hot to the touch or reaches about 160°F.
- When the mix comes to temperature, take off the heat and beat with a hand mixer or with the whisk attachment on a stand mixer until you achieve stiff peaks. When you reach stiff peaks, add the vanilla and mix for 30 additional seconds to make sure it gets distributed evenly.
- Add the fluff into a piping bag fitted with a tip and pipe on top of the chocolate filling in the tarts. If you do not want to pipe, you can easily spoon the fluff on top of the tarts too!
- Place in freezer for 10 minutes. This will help to prevent the tart from melting when we blowtorch the fluff.
- Take the tarts out of the freezer and lightly blowtorch the fluff until it turns a nice golden brown. Be gentle with the torching, we do not want to burn the tart!
- Once all of the tarts have been toasted, put tarts in the refrigerator. Keep in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving, but they will last, in the fridge for up to 3 days, just make sure to cover them with plastic wrap if you are going to leave them in the refrigerator for longer than 1 day.
- Enjoy!
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