Chocolate Passion fruit tart

In this Chocolate Passion fruit tart recipe silky & rich chocolate ganache meets floral & tropical yet tangy passion fruit curd! If you have not tried pairing passion fruit and chocolate before, you are missing out, they are truly match-made in heaven!

Jump to:

• What is a tart / tartlet
• Why this is the best recipe
• Ingredient notes
• 7 Expert Baking tips
• Equipment notes
• More tart recipes
• RECIPE CARD
• Chocolate Passion fruit tart

What is a tart / tartlet

A tart is a freestanding, shallow, open-faced pastry consisting of a filling in a pastry case with an open-top, not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually a rich shortcrust pastry (Pate sable dough), while the filling can be both sweet or savory. A tart case is typically baked in a tart ring with fluted or straight sides. Smaller mini tarts are often referred to as tartlets. Lemon tart, fruit tart, chocolate tart, coffee tart, caramel tart...you name it!

Tarts and tartlets are some of the most popular pastries all around the world. As fancy as they look, these French pastries are in fact surprisingly easy to make at home and can be the most impressive desserts on any family or friend get-together.

Why this is the best recipe

• It is rather easy – As fancy as it looks, making this Chocolate tart with passion fruit curd is actually not that hard. The chocolate ganache and passion fruit curd comes together super quickly and easily. The one part you need to pay attention to is making the tart shell, but I will teach you how to do it easily step-by-step. Overall, you can comfortably try making this tartlet even if you are a beginner in the kitchen!
• It is super delicious – I never compromise on taste! Buttery sweet shurtcrust pastry filled with silky and creamy chocolate ganache and tangy lemon curd make this tartlet absolutely irresistible! It is creamy, fruity, rich, but very well balanced in sweetness and super refreshing! You will love this Passion fruit chocolate dessert!
• It is an honest, detailed tutorial – While this recipe might look long, all the information I have written here, every tip and trick will help you achieve the perfect results without any issues on the way. Remember, baking is science, and every little detail written here is to help YOU!

Ingredient notes

For the Chocolate Pâte Sablée tart shell

• Flour: I am using pastry flour (that is lower in protein content) for this French tart shell recipe, feel free to use All-purpose flour, if can't find pastry flour in your local supermarket. If you want to be a Pro when it comes to deciding what type of flour to use in your baking, please read my article here
• Almond: Some Pâte Sablée recipes contain almond, some don't, I prefer mine with almond flour from a taste and texture point of view. Pâte Sablée with almond flour is slightly crispier with some marzipan taste. It is worth buying good quality ground almonds, without skin. Almond can be replaced with hazelnut, walnut, pistachio flour too, or alternatively, in case of nut allergy, replace it with an equal amount of pastry flour
• Cocoa powder: The cocoa powder will make this recipe into a wonderful Chocolate tart case! Always use unsweetened, 100% cocoa powder in baking. I use dutch-process cocoa powder, it has a lovely dark color and it is lower in acidity
• Sugar: This sweet shortcrust pastry is made with a small amount of icing sugar that makes the tart case sweet but not overly sweet. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my article here
• Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. Balances flavor and enhances other ingredients. This is a sweet-tart dough and I just love that extra very mild salty kick at the end
• Butter: Use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using high-quality 82% fat content European-style butter in all my recipes. While in most of the recipes butter needs to be at room temperature, this is an exception and you have to take it very seriously. The butter needs to be chilled, which means take the butter out of the fridge, cut it into cubes then place it into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before using it
• Egg: Room temperature as always. Please note that this is not a Vegan pâte sablée recipe and the egg can´t be left out or replaced unless you have the knowledge to totally reformulate the recipe

Exact ingredient quantities can be found in the RECIPE CARD, at the bottom of this page.

For the Passion fruit curd

• Passion fruit: Since fresh is not super accessible in Sweden (and very expensive) I am using frozen passion fruit puree to make the curd, it works perfectly fine
• Granulated sugar: Use normal white granulated sugar, nothing fancy or expensive. Sugar quantity will need to be adjusted according to the sweetness of the fruit, please taste it and use your judgment accordingly. In this passionfruit curd recipe, the curd will be tangy and not overly sweet, which is my preference for citrus desserts especially for pairing it with chocolate. Feel free to adjust the quantity of the sugar for your taste
• Egg: Room temperature as always and use only the yolk, which will thicken the curd. If you wonder what to do with the leftover egg white, try my pavlova recipe. Please note that some other recipes use whole eggs for making curd, I prefer using yolk only for a few reasons: 1. Colour 2. Texture 3. Easier to cook and less likely to end up like scrambled egg
• Butter: Use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. In this recipe, the butter needs to be at room temperature so avoid last-minute microwaving. The butter makes the passion fruit curd incredible rich and creamy also makes it more stable (thick) in texture.

Exact ingredient quantities can be found in the RECIPE CARD, at the bottom of this page.

For the Chocolate ganache

1. Chocolate: The chocolate is quite an important part of this Chocolate & Passion fruit tart recipe so make sure you use high-quality chocolate that has a pleasant taste! In this tartlet recipe, I am using Callebaut Milk Chocolate (callets). This is high-quality chocolate (yet affordable) that contains a higher percentage of cocoa butter than the average supermarket chocolate.
2. Heavy cream: Heavy cream also known as whipping cream has a fat content between 36% and 40%, the cream I am using is 36% that makes ganache super-rich, creamy and silky

Exact ingredient quantities can be found in the RECIPE CARD, at the bottom of this page.

For the Chocolate shard decoration

• Chocolate: When making chocolate decoration, it is worth remembering that not all chocolates are created equal, recipes that require chocolate decoration or chocolate work, the quality of the chocolate goes way beyond taste. I am using Callebaut Milk Chocolate (callets) just like making the ganache. The additional cocoa butter, combined with proper tempering technique gives the chocolate a more shiny look, a firmer “snap” when broken, and a creamier, more smooth texture. Couverture type of chocolate is used by professionals and by home bakers who want to take their chocolate work to the next level. It is usually sold online in a bigger pack eg. 1 kg and is perfect to make recipes that require high-quality chocolate.

7 Expert Baking tips

1. The importance of temperature while making Chocolate tartlet

Baking is science and in general, the temperature is one of the most important factors to understand and utilize for our benefit. When I say temperature I don't purely mean baking temperature, but also the environment we work e.g kitchen temperature as well as the dough temperature.

While making this mini chocolate tart case recipe, the temperature is everything! If the dough is too warm, it's sticky and can't be rolled out or shaped. If too cold, it will easily break. The entire pastry-making process is a balancing exercise between keeping the dough cold enough, but not too cold.

For more details, check my Chocolate Pâte Sablée tart crust tutorial.

2. What is blind baking and how to avoid it

Baking blind is the process of baking a pie or tart crust without the filling. It's done by lining the tart tin with parchment paper and filling it with eg. pie weights. Frankly, it is not an ideal, professional solution, and while it certainly prevents the crust from puffing up while it bakes, it does not provide even baking. Blind making makes the tart crust somewhat unappealing, full of wrinkles as I call it, and baked unevenly.

My Chocolate Pate sable recipe DOES NOT involve blind baking, instead, I am suggesting using perforated baking rings and a perforated baking mat for the best results. The recipe, of course, can be made using the traditional blind baking method with pie weights, however, I recommend working with perforated equipment for a neat-looking result. Please see below my Equipment tips for further details.

3. Process of making a Chocolate tart dough

Now that we covered all the important WHAT and WHY, let´s see how exactly to make sweet shortcrust pastry for your favorite tartlets! In case you want to learn more, I have a Chocolate Pate sable tart shell tutorial on the blog with Troubleshooting and video recipe, check it out.

• Measure all ingredients with a Digital scale and prepare all the equipment ahead: Rolling pin, Silicone baking mat, Perforated “air” baking mat, Perforated tart ring
• Place the measured butter chunks into the freezer for 5-10 minutes
• Sift together the dry ingredients; flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder, almond, salt, and mix so they are combined properly
• Add very cold butter chunks into dry ingredients and rub the mixture between your hands until it becomes a sand-like consistency. This will take about 2 minutes, make sure you do not spend too much time with this step as butter can easily warm up, and that is something we want to avoid. Please note that there is no need to use a food processor!
• Add egg into the mixture and mix with your hands just until the dough comes together. First, it might look crumbly but do not add more wet or dry ingredients to the recipe instead gently knead the dough with the palm of your hand for a minute or two (do not over-knead and do not use a mixer) just until the dough becomes smooth
• If the dough is too warm and sticky, place it into the fridge for 10-15 minutes first. Otherwise, continue with rolling the dough out into 2mm thickness between two Silicone baking mat. The recipe quantity is designed in a way that once you roll the dough out, it will reach the silicone baking mat from edge to edge (11.6 inches / 30 cm x 16.5 inches / 42cm)
• Place the chocolate tart dough into the freezer for 10-15 min in between the two Silicone baking mat. Do not remove the mat at this point as the dough might stick to the mat while it is warm
• Prepare your oven rack with the Perforated "air" baking mat and Perforated tart rings on top
• Take the dough sheet out from the freezer, remove the top of the silicone mat, and using one of the Perforated tart rings, cut out 8 circles – this will be the bottom of your tart crust. Carefully move the dough circles with the help of an Offset spatula and place them into the rings one by one
• If at any point the chocolate pastry dough gets too warm to work with, pop it back into the freezer for 5 minutes. You might need to take the dough in and out of the freezer a lot of times but that is fine, don´t try to force the dough while it is warm. It is extremely important to work with a dough that is cold enough to be able to handle (so not sticky) but not too cold which would result in breaking it
• Cut 8 long stripes out of the dough, this will be the side of the tart
• Carefully place the stripes into the ring one by one. Press each strip onto the side of the ring so it sticks to it. Again, make sure you work with a dough that is cold enough but not frozen as that would make it impossible to place it into the tart pan without breaking it
• Place the Perforated tart rings with the chocolate pastry dough in them into the freezer for 1 hour
• Pre-heat oven to 160C / 320F
• After 1 hour, take the sweet shortcrust pastry dough with the rings on them out and trim the top with a sharp knife
• Bake them for 20 min then carefully remove the rings. Once you take the chocolate tarts out of the oven wait for a minute or two for the pastry to somewhat contract within the ring then you will be able to easily remove the rings. If the pastry seems to be stuck onto the ring, it means probably you will need to bake it for a few more minutes. Do not force it as you can easily break it
• Once tart rings are removed, you will need to place the tart cases back to the oven. Bake them for another approx. 10 minutes, adjust the baking time if needed. Rotate the baking sheet, if necessary. Let them cool on the Perforated "air" baking mat before filling them

4. How to make passion fruit curd

If you like lemon curd, you will love this passion fruit curd recipe! It is floral, tropical, sweet, and tangy at the same time!

How to make passion fruit curd?

There are several ways to make it, there is no good or bad choice here. 1. You can mix in all ingredients and cook the curd until it thickens or 2. You can leave the butter out and only cook the rest of the ingredients (until they thicken) then mix the butter in later. Also in terms of ways of cooking you can 1. either cook the mixture over double boiler or 2. directly on the stove

The benefit of mixing all in is that it is super easy, hassle-free, quick and the mixture less likely to curdle.

The advantage of mixing butter in later is that the mixture will be slightly silkier (in my view) plus it will also cool quicker since butter is added at a later stage on room temp.

The benefit of a double boiler is that you are less likely to end up with a scrambled egg. Chose this method, if you are less experienced in making curd.

However, the great benefit of making this passion fruit curd directly on the stove is that it is much quicker! But, you have to constantly whisk the mixture to avoid egg curdling.

Below I explain the "mixing butter in later" & "directly on the stove" method but feel free to experiment and chose your preference.

1. Place passion fruit puree*, egg yolk, and sugar into a heatproof bowl and cook the curd over medium heat whisking constantly. Whisking is important to avoid egg yolks from curdling.
2. After about 5 minutes the mixture starts to thicken like custard (depends on your stove!). I find the temperature at this stage is around 80C/176C
3. Remove passion fruit curd from the heat, and to be on the safe side, pour the cooked curd through a sieve so you will get rid of any potential egg bits in there
4. With a rubber spatula mix in room temperature butter in small chunks one by one. Make sure that each chunk of butter is fully incorporated before adding the next. If you have a blender, blend butter into curd, if not, make sure you fully incorporate it with your spatula
5. Pour curd into a shallow container (so it will cool quicker) and place plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents skin forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools in the fridge
6. Use it to fill your tart cases once room temp or slightly cooled. No need to wait until it fully sets but it should not be warm

*Note on the passion fruit puree: What to do with the seeds? Now, this is totally your choice but my preference is to keep some seeds in from a visual point of view so the tartlet looks like it is a passion fruit tart. However, I remove a lot of seeds because simply there are way too many seeds in passion fruit that would be actually quite troublesome to eat them all. Please note that the weight (gram) I mention in the recipe is referring to the final weight of the passion fruit puree so after the seeds are removed (but kept some in)

5. How to make chocolate ganache tart filling

Making the ganache filling for the Chocolate Passion fruit tartlet is extremely easy and quick! It also tastes amazing…and you will need only 2 ingredients!

Chocolate ganache is a chocolate and cream mixture with endless uses; cakes, cupcakes, tarts, etc. I recommend to chose a high-quality brand with high cocoa content chocolate to avoid disappointment, I am using Callebaut Milk Chocolate (callets) that has high cocoa butter %, tastes amazing, and works wonderfully silky while making ganache.

Regarding the cream, I am using heavy cream that has 36% fat content. Do not make ganache using low-fat creams or vegetable creams.

1. Place finely chopped high-quality chocolate into a bowl or use Callebaut Milk Chocolate (callets).
2. Semi-melt chocolate in the microwave stirring every 30 sec, make sure you do not burn it. No need to fully melt it
3. Heat cream until just simmering. If it’s boiling, the cream is too hot and could burn the chocolate. If the cream is not warm enough, it won´t melt the chocolate properly and won’t emulsify
4. Pour warm cream over the chocolate
5. Let the mixture sit for a minute then stir together or use a blender to emulsify
6. Let the ganache come to room temperature before using

6. How to make the chocolate shard decoration for this Passion fruit Chocolate tart

The chocolate shard decoration really takes this tartlet to the next level, and it is so easy, I suggest you give it a go!

You will need to temper chocolate for this decoration but don´t panic, it is super easy! There are a few ways to temper chocolate, I have 2 tutorials available that will help you

1. Seeding method is effectively tempering the chocolate with the chocolate itself. In details, I explain the seeding method in this post
2. With cocoa butter powder method I am using Callebaut Mycryo, I explain in details how to temper chocolate with cocoa butter powder in this post

No matter what method you chose to temper the chocolate, it is very quick and simple and a brilliant baking skill one can learn and take desserts to the next level! Once you learn it, you will be able to make chocolate decorations, chocolate bonbons, etc. any time you want!

Once you tempered your chocolate, spread it over parchment paper in an even, thin layer with the help of a large Offset spatula, and roll up the parchment carefully. Place the rolled-up chocolate into the fridge for 1hour. If you tempered the chocolate correctly, it should be set in the fridge and once you unroll the parchment, the chocolate “sheet” should break up naturally into shards. How genius?! Love how easy and visually appealing this decoration is, try it!

6. How to assemble these Chocolate & Passion fruit tarts

First, you will make the chocolate tart shells then you have to let them cool before filling. Next, make the chocolate ganache and let it cool to room temp before filling the tart shells. After, make the passion fruit curd filling and let it slightly set before using (no need to fully chill but don´t use it while it is warm). In the meantime, prepare the chocolate shard decoration.

The assembling process is rather simple

1. Fill each tart case with chocolate ganache till half
2. Let the chocolate ganache set in the fridge for a few hours or in the freezer for 30 min if you are in a rush. Before proceeding with the passion fruit curd layer make sure that ganache has set, otherwise, they might melt together
3. Once the chocolate ganache layer is set and passion fruit curd is at room temp, pipe curd on top
4. Let the tarts set in the fridge for min a few hours, overnight even better
5. Dust each chocolate shard decoration with cocoa powder and place one decoration on each tart

Voila, your Chocolate and Passionfruit tart is ready! Enjoy and store them in the fridge!

Equipment notes

You can achieve neat, visually appealing, professional-looking chocolate tart crust by using professional baking equipment. Luckily these are available to purchase on Amazon not just for professionals, but also for home bakers.

Silicone baking mat

I recommend using 2 Silicone baking mat for rolling the pastry dough out in between them. The recipe is designed in a way that you do not need to add extra flour while rolling the dough however it might stick to your kitchen counter so use a silicone baking mat. It’s also possible to use 2 sheets of parchment paper however the silicone mat provides a much neater, smooth surface. It can be washed and re-used all the time so overall worth the investment. I am using the “Amazon basics” cheapest version, no need to buy anything expensive.

While rolling, start from the center of the disc and work your way out in all directions. Again remember, the temperature is very important. If the dough is too cold, you won´t be able to roll it out. If too warm, it will be difficult to handle and will even stick to the silicone baking mat. Use your fridge or freezer to control the temperature of the pastry dough at all times.

Perforated baking “air” mat

The Perforated “air” baking mat is perfect for making tart crust, éclairs, or even cookies. Thanks to the holes in the mat, the heat spreads evenly throughout mats’ surface guaranteeing a perfect and even baking without blind baking. The dough won´t puff up while baking the tarts and will be baked super neat.

While baking the mini chocolate tart shells, use the Perforated “air” baking mat straight on top of the oven rack (so not in a baking pan) so that the air can circulate properly. I have been using Perforated “air” baking mat for years from a brand called Silikomart and love it!

Perforated tart ring

The Perforated tart rings are non-stick and stainless, they allow homogeneous baking due to the even air circulation. Silikomart offers rings in various shapes and sizes, I am using an 8cm (3,14inch) diameter round version in this case, however, the recipe can be made in larger rings as well just like this Raspberry Frangipane tart. As far as I can see there are several cheap copies of the initial Silikomart product, I am not sure though whether they are made of the same material and whether they work or not.

Absolutely no need to grease the tart rings when making Pâte Sablée, the dough will stick to its perforated side while baking, and will contract after baked - so the ring can be removed easily. These Perforated tart rings are the best investment I have ever made!

More tart recipes

Lemon meringue tart – This Lemon meringue tart recipe is a decorative, individual dessert version of the well know lemon meringue pie. I love everything about this French tartlet recipe! Pâte Sablée sweet shortcrust pastry filled with tangy and creamy lemon curd and topped with sweet and silky Swiss meringue.

Creamy Raspberry tart – This Raspberry tart recipe is an ideal balance between buttery, melt in your mouth shortcrust pastry and silky raspberry ganache full of natural raspberry flavor

Triple Hazelnut nut with gold chocolate disk decoration - This Triple hazelnut tart recipe is a dream for hazelnut lovers but what makes it even more special is the gold chocolate disk decoration melted on top!

Strawberry Pistachio tart - This Strawberry Pistachio tart consists of Pâte Sablée sweet shortcrust pastry filled with silky Pistachio ganache and topped with delicious fresh strawberries

Fig Frangipane tart – Pâte Sablée (sweet shortcrust) filled with an incredibly delicious, easy almond cream (frangipane) and a slice of fig is what makes this tart a truly amazing autumn recipe!

Coffee tart – Pâte Sablée filled with Coffee ganache and decorated with cream that makes it effectively a Cappuccino Tart. A must make for Coffee lovers!

Caramelized banana & Caramel tart – This Caramelized banana and Caramel Tart is the perfect easy yet fancy dessert you can make at home and impress everyone! The tart has 3 elements: Homemade Pâte Sablée (sweet shortcrust) tart shell, 5 minutes caramelized banana layer, super quick and easy 3 ingredients caramel layer on top

Salted caramel & Chocolate tart – This Salted caramel chocolate tart is one of my favorite tarts ever! It just tastes phenomenal as the buttery caramel with a slight salty kick meets the silky chocolate ganache! 

RECIPE CARD