Oh, what decadence! For the cravy chocoholic, this is truly heaven in a mouthful. Best accompaniments are coffee or liqueur.

Ingredients

• Coconut short pastry
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 100 grams butter, chilled and diced
• about 3-4 tablespoons cold water
• Chocolate and liqueur ganache filling
• 150 grams good quality dark chocolate, chopped
• ¾ cup cream
• 2 tablespoons brandy or Kahlua

Method

1. Put the flour, coconut and sugar into a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles crumbs.
2. Pulse in sufficient cold water to form small moist balls of dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface to bring together.
3. Roll the pastry out to 3mm thickness and use to line the base of 12-15 small tartlet tins. Use boat-shaped tins, patty pan or mini muffin tins. Prick well with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until the pastry is cooked. It will begin to turn toast coloured on the edges and the cetnre of the pastry should be cooked. Cool.
6. Chocolate and liqueur ganache filling
7. Place the chocolate in a saucepan with the cream and stir over a low heat until the chocolate melts. Alternatively, heat on medium-high power in the microwave for about 5-6 minutes, stirring at regular intervals until the chocolate melts. Stir in the alcohol and set aside to cool completely.
8. When the chocolate mixture becomes thick but not set, spoon tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the prepared pastry cases. These are best served at room temperature.

Cooks Tips

- For this ganache recipe look for a chocolate that has 60% cocoa solids or more. Check the back of the label when buying chocolate as the amount of cocoa solids is now listed as a percentage. The more cocoa solids, the darker the chocolate. - The pastry cases can be cooked in advance and kept in an airtight container or even frozen and used as required. - Any leftover ganache will keep for many weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.