Air Fryer Recipe
Air-Fried Black Forest Tartlets
These Black Forest tartlets are a lovely little take on the classic cake, with rich chocolate, juicy cherries and fresh cream tucked into a bite-sized dessert.
Ingredients
- 200g plain flour
- 100g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- 50g icing sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 150g dark chocolate
- 100ml double cream
- 50g caster sugar
- 1 tin (about 400g) of cherries in juice, drained
- 200ml whipped cream
- Grated chocolate or cocoa powder, for garnish
Method
- Put the plain flour and icing sugar in a bowl. Add the chilled butter and rub it into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolk and cold water, then mix until a dough forms. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the chilled pastry, cut it into rounds, and press into tartlet tins. Prick the bases and chill for 15 minutes.
- Preheat the air fryer to 160°C. Bake the tartlet crusts for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Leave to cool completely.
- Chop the dark chocolate and put it in a bowl. Heat the double cream until simmering, pour it over the chocolate, and stir into a ganache.
- Spoon the ganache into the cooled tartlet shells and leave to set for 30 minutes.
- Arrange the cherries on the set ganache, top with whipped cream, and finish with grated chocolate or cocoa powder.
Why this works in an air fryer
Shortcrust needs cold fat and minimal gluten: butter pieces melt in the air fryer’s fast convection, steaming and leaving a crumbly shell. Pricking vents trapped steam so bases stay flat. Cooling before ganache matters because residual heat thins the emulsion and can soften the pastry.
Equipment notes
Assumes 6 small tartlet tins, about 8–10cm, in a 5–6 litre basket with space around each tin for airflow; cook in batches if they touch. In a single-drawer model, place tins centrally and rotate positions halfway; in dual-zone fryers, use one zone where possible, or expect the cooler outer edges to need 1–2 minutes longer.
Common pitfalls
- Pastry slumps down the sides during baking? It was too warm or stretched into the tins; rechill until firm and press the pastry in without pulling it thinner at the rim.
- Bases puffing up by minute 5? The pricks were too shallow or too few; press them down gently, add more fork holes, and use a small square of baking paper with baking beans for the next batch.
- Shells browned at the rim but pale underneath? The tins are blocking bottom heat and airflow; lower to 150°C and extend by 3–5 minutes, or use thinner metal tins rather than ceramic.
- Ganache looks split, greasy or grainy? The cream was too hot or the chocolate was overheated; whisk in 1–2 teaspoons of warm cream from the centre out until glossy again.
Variations & substitutions
- Use morello cherries in syrup instead of standard tinned cherries; drain very well as extra syrup will loosen the ganache and make the cream slide.
- Swap dark chocolate for 50–60% cocoa milk chocolate; the filling sets softer, so chill a little longer before adding the cherries.
- Add 1 teaspoon kirsch to the ganache after it has emulsified; adding it earlier can cool and split the mixture, so stir it in at the end.
- Use ready-rolled shortcrust pastry for speed; it is usually thinner, so start checking the shells 2 minutes earlier for over-browning.
Storage & reheating
Keep assembled tartlets refrigerated for up to 2 days; for crisper empty shells, refresh unfilled cases in the air fryer at 150°C for 2–3 minutes, but do not reheat assembled tartlets as the cream and ganache will melt.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
