These mini dark chocolate tarts are rich and delicious. The salted caramel sauce only takes 10 minutes to make, but gives them a lovely extra flavour dimension. Perfect for a party, dessert or afternoon tea.
Recipe commissioned by Thermapen.
Can I tempt you with a mini dark chocolate tart? How about if we then drizzle it with a decadent and delicious salted caramel sauce?... Yeah, I knew you'd want one.
These teeny tiny little bites of deliciousness are a show-stopping party food. But they're actually really easy to make!
Feel free to make your own shortcrust pastry, but you can also cheat a little and use store bought pastry or even buy pre-made mini tart shells. That cuts the time and effort for these tasty treats right down and shhhhhh.... I won't tell anyone.
Then you can get on with the fun business of making the decadent dark chocolate cream filling and the dreamy salted caramel sauce.
Tasty Tarts
A rich truffle-like chocolate cream filling, nestled inside a crisp pastry case. Seriously, what more could you want in a dessert that's perfect for a party or buffet? Wait, you want to add a flavourful salted caramel sauce for extra decadence!
I promise that both elements of this recipe are really easy. Melting, heating and stirring. Just be careful when you add the cream to the caramel - the sugar-water gets very hot and the cold cream bubbles up a bit.
You will need:
For the mini dark chocolate tarts
1 package of shortcrust pastry, or store bought mini tart shells
double cream (aka heavy cream)
dark chocolate
caster sugar
butter
vanilla
For the salted caramel sauce:
water
granulated sugar
double cream (aka heavy cream)
vanilla
sea salt
Other equipment:
Bowl
Pan
Wooden spoon
Food Thermometer (I use a Thermapen® )
Baking Tray
Baking paper
Whisk
Jar
Thermapen®
For these tasty mini chocolate tarts (and many other recipes!), I use a Thermapen® food thermometer. It takes the guesswork out of many recipes and helps to ensure success.
For years I've been using mine for everything from honeycomb and homemade lollipops, to carrot and ginger hot cross buns and pecan brittle. It's also really great for bread and I use it for my delicious date and walnut loaf.
Food thermometers are perhaps thought of as mainly useful for meat, but as a vegetarian, I still use it all the time. It's particularly useful for bread as well as plenty of sweet treats.
The SuperFast Thermapen® 4 Cooks Thermometer is the UK’s best-selling food thermometer.
* Measures a temperature range of -49.9 to 299.9 °C.
* Used worldwide by hundreds of thousands of cooks
* Fast, accurate and convenient
* Patented 360° self-rotating display that automatically turns to make it readable in any position.
How to Make Mini Dark Chocolate Tarts with Salted Caramel Drizzle
For the Dark Chocolate Tarts:
Step 1: Add the cream, butter, chocolate and sugar to a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
Step 2: Melt together, stirring until smooth and glossy.
Step 3: Spoon into the pastry cases.
For the Salted Caramel Sauce
Step 1: Add the water and sugar to a pan over a medium/high heat.
Step 2: Bring to the boil.
Step 3: Heat until a dark amber colour and 175C.
Step 4: Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream.
Step 5: Stir in the vanilla and sea salt.
Step 6: Drizzle over the chocolate tarts and pour the remainder into a jar.
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out for you!
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Get the Mini Chocolate Tarts with Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe

Mini Dark Chocolate Tarts with Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 36 store bought mini tart cases (Or 320g/11oz package store bought shortcrust pastry)
For the chocolate cream filling
- 300 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 300 g (1 ⅔ cups chopped or chips) dark chocolate chopped
- 5 tablespoon caster sugar
- 50 g (⅓ stick) butter cut into small cubes
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
For the salted caramel sauce
- 125 ml (½ cup) water
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 175 ml (¾ cup) double (heavy) cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
If not using pre-made pastry cases:
- Preheat oven to 200ºC/400F. Lightly grease the cups of a mini muffin tin.
- Roll the dough out thinly on a lightly floured surface. Cut the pastry into discs slightly larger than the diameter of the muffin cups. Gently press each one into the muffin tin. Prick the bases with a fork a few times then leave to rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until slightly golden. Allow to cool completely.
For the chocolate cream filling
- Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the cream, chocolate, sugar, butter and vanilla. Stir until it all melts together and becomes glossy and smooth.
- Pour into the pastry cases and gently tap to level and remove any air bubbles.
- Allow to cool slightly, then refrigerate for 2 hours.
For the salted caramel sauce
- Measure out all the ingredients first. Add the water to a saucepan, then pour in the sugar (Note: don’t stir, but just allow the sugar to melt into the water - you don’t want to splash the sugar against the sides).
- Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes until it turns a rich amber colour and the food thermometer reads 175C/350F.
- Remove the pan from the heat and very carefully (the sugar water is HOT!) whisk in the cream. It will bubble up a lot. Then stir in the vanilla and salt.
- Allow to cool then drizzle over the chilled chocolate tarts and sprinkle with a few flakes of sea salt.
- Pour the remainder into a sterilised glass jar and allow to cool. It’s delicious on ice cream, crumble, cupcakes or even the odd sneaky teaspoon straight out of the jar.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.
Thanks for checking out my recipe! I love hearing from my readers. You all allow me to do what I love and write this UK food blog, sharing vegetarian and vegan recipes, vegetable cake recipes and also easy vegan desserts.
Kate x
Disclosure: This recipe was commissioned by Thermapen. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make it possible for me to be a UK food blogger and write Veggie Desserts.
Beth Lee
I love everything about these mini desserts and I love the Thermapen - use it all the time! Can't wait to serve these!
Britni
These look amazing ! I love the smaller portions, perfect for snacking!
Ellen
This is my kind of dessert. Dark chocolate, salted caramel, and one all for myself.
Caroline
These look so pretty and sound delicious! I love the idea of them being little bites as well.
Jacqueline Debono
These mini chocolate tarts look super! I know my hubby would love them he's a big dark chocolate fan!
Claudia Lamascolo
these are just the perfect bite I would love that combination of flavors and perfect for holiday!
Danielle Wolter
OMG, I totally need these in my life. I love dark chocolate and salted caramel. I'm totally making these 🙂