Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream

Tim Tam Tarts. Isn’t that oh so fun to say? A Tim Tam is a chocolate cookie from Arnott’s in Australia. You might see them every now and then in America, but don’t be fooled, those are made by Pepperidge Farm and I’m sorry, they just don’t live up to the originals. These happy little biscuits covered in chocolate are absolutely delicious. Their motto is “The Most Irresistible Chocolate Biscuit” but I think it’s more appropriately “Visitors to Australia’s Biggest Australian Obsession”. Seriously. They are the best.

So when one of my friends traveled to Australia recently and asked what I’d like, I basically yelled in her face “TIM TAMS!” which can be quite alarming to someone who has zero idea what a Tim Tam is. I clearly made an impression, because she returned with two boxes! Now, Tim Tams are perfectly delicious on their own, maybe with some milk. But I’m a food blogger, so I had to try to turn the cookies into something even better. A Dark Chocolate Tart with Tim Tam Crust, Raspberries, and Rose Water Whipped Cream? YES! (I adapted this recipe for Tim Tam Tarts with Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream from taste.com.au)

Note: I am currently taking the Melt Buttery Spread Challenge and am substituting any and all butter/oils with Melt. I wrote a review of Melt a while back, which you can read here. If you can’t find Melt in your supermarket, use other coconut oil spreads, or just butter in this recipe)

Ingredients:

For the tart:

• 1 box of original Tim Tams
• 2 ounces Melt , melted (about 1 tablespoon in its original form)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ~7 oz dark chocolate (200g if you’re using a scale), roughly chopped (I used almost 5 dark chocolate candy bars!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• Raspberries and Rose Water Whipped Cream, to serve

For the Rose Water Whipped Cream:

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon rose water

Start by making the tarts. You’ll need four small loose-bottomed tart pans. I found them at Kitchen Kapers but I’m sure other places have them. I want to say they are about 3.5 inches in diameter. Grease the tars pans with some additional Melt.

Add the Tim Tams to a food processor. Grind to fine crumbs.

Remove 1 heaping tablespoon and set aside. (You’ll use this for garnish, and a little extra crunch).

Add the melted Melt (hehe) to the food processor and pulse to combine.

Evenly distribute the crumb mixture within the four tart pans and press to form a crust on the bottom of the pans.

Set in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

While waiting for the crust to set, preheat the oven to 320 degrees F (I’m translating this from an Australian recipe so bear with my rough conversions). Add the heavy cream to a pan over low heat. When the cream seems to be warming, add the chopped chocolate, stirring constantly over low heat until combined and all the chocolate has melted. Remove from heat.

Add the vanilla and egg yolks to a medium sized bowl. Add a little bit of the chocolate mixture to the eggs and vanilla to temper the eggs. (This increases the temperature of the eggs and keeps them from cooking when you add the rest of the mixture). Mix to combine. Add the rest of the chocolate mixture and combine.

Pour the chocolate into the tart pans. You can fill it basically to the top, there is nothing in this that should rise too much.

Bake for 15 minutes. It should resemble pudding when you take them out.

Allow to fully cool (this is super important, or your tart will break apart!)

To make the whipped cream, add the cream to a bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix the cream on medium/high until frothy.

Add the sugar, vanilla and rose water. Beat on medium/high until stiff peaks form, and the mixture resembles whipped cream.

When ready to serve, remove the tarts carefully from the pan (push the bottom of the tart pan up and out). Top the tart with raspberries, a dollop of whipped cream, and a sprinkling of the Tim Tam dirt.

Isn’t this just sinful? If you have no ability to get yourself a box of Tim Tams, you can experiment with other cookies. I’m sure an Oreo crust would rock a couple worlds just as well as a Tim Tam crust.

The tart is super dense and chocolately so the raspberries and whipped cream are a must. You could also top this with vanilla ice cream.

Whipped cream, chocolate, and raspberries. Honestly, what more could you ask for?!