Everyone in our house is a spice head. The lazy Susan on our kitchen table has about 10 different bottles of hot sauce ranging from “hot” to nuclear. Guess which bottle is the most empty.  My son and I are on a secret mission to turn his girlfriend into a chili head. She does not like spicy food, so of course every time she tries something I make she first asks if it is spicy. We keep trying to up the spice in things we give her so we can get her to join our club. I know it’s just a matter of time. Enter the chocolate tart…dun dun dun.

You can tailor these tarts to suite your level of spice. When you get to the point where you add the spices, then keep adding in pinches of spice to you get the heat you prefer. This past weekend I was catering a Mexican fiesta for a friend and she asked me to do the desserts. I made 4 different mini treats and these chocolate tarts were one of them. They were the first to go empty on the platter! I was kind of shocked because I assumed they would be the treat people would shy away from. There were children at the party so I didn’t make them super spicy; just a hint. Well guess who ate several of them? Yup, my son’s girlfriend. She loved em! And I’m a big fan too! They are super easy to make. A great tool to have when making them is a tart tamper-it helps with getting the chocolate crumb nice and flat-the small end fits perfectly in the wells of a mini muffin tin. This is the one I use below found on Amazon.

Mexican Chocolate Chili Tarts

yield~ 34 tarts 

Chocolate Filling

4 oz. Milk Chocolate Chips (I like Guittard or Ghirardelli)

4 oz. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

2/3 Cup heavy whipping cream

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp chili powder

3-5 pinches of cayenne pepper

Prepare the mini muffin wells with the chocolate crumb layer below.

In a heat proof bowl place both the chocolate chips. Heat the cream to a scald, then pour over the chips and allow the mixture to sit for 3 minutes, then stir gently from the middle out until combined. If you see a few small bits of un melted chocolate, then place in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds at a time and stir to combine. Stir in salt and spices. Taste the filling, and add in extra pinches of cayenne as desired for heat level. Pour the filling into each well of the prepared crumb layer. Allow to cool to room temperature then place uncovered into the fridge to set. Decorate as desired with chocolate pearls or dist with chocolate powder. Serve tarts at room temperature.

Chocolate Crumb

1 1/2 Cups Chocolate graham crackers

2 Tbsp sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

Mix the crumb ingredients together and line mini muffin wells with paper liners. Measure out 1 level measuring Tablespoon of crumb mixture and press into the liners. If you have a tart tamper this is ideal. Bake the crumb layer in a preheated 350° F oven for 6 minutes. Crumb crust will puff up and after removing from oven, use the tamper again to press back down; being careful not to burn yourself (wear an oven mitt when doing so). Allow the tray to cool over a wire rack then fill with the chocolate filling.