Add the perfect finishing touch to your wickedly chocolately spider tart with this handy spider leg plan.
Ingredients
Chocolate pastry
Chocolate filling
Spiders and web
Method
Chocolate pastry
1.This can be made up to two days in advance and kept in the frozen stage. Place the dry ingredients into a food processor – this is a good job for the kids; my kids love measuring though it can get a little messy!
2.Grate the butter into the mix. Press the pulse button 1-2 times, until it resembles breadcrumbs (this is another fun job for the kids, though don’t let them do it too many times, it’s very important not to over work the dough).
3.Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of water. Pulse one more time. The mixture is ready when you can press it between your fingers and it clumps together. Only use the third tablespoon of water if it is necessary.
4.Tip it out onto the bench and work it until it comes together as dough. Knead for 30 seconds. Another fun kids’ job! Make into a round flat disk, wrap in glad wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
5.Take out of the fridge and let the dough come up to room temperature. Roll out on a lightly floured surface. Lay it gently over the greased tart tin and press into the corners.
6.Trim 5mm above the edge of the tin — this helps with the shrinkage that happens whilst cooking. Freeze for one hour (this will also help with the shrinkage.) At this stage you can freeze the pastry for up to 2 days, if you have prepared it in advance.
7.Preheat oven 200°. Line the pastry with non-stick cooking paper. Then weigh down with pastry weights. If you don’t have weights, no problem, you can use dried beans (I used lentils) or even uncooked rice.
8.Bake blind for 15 mins. Remove the beans/rice/ weights and paper and continue cooking for a further 5-10 minutes.
9.While the pastry is cooling, prepare the chocolate filling.
Chocolate filling
10.Place the cream and salt in a pan and heat until just before the boil.
11.Take off the heat and add the butter and NESTLÉ BAKERS’ CHOICE Dark Melts, stir until smooth. Pour into the tart shell, reserving a little to make the spiders’ eyes.
12.Place in the fridge to cool. Now it’s time for the fun part, the spiders and web!
The web
13.Melt the NESTLÉ BAKERS’ CHOICE White Melts in microwave on high for 1 minute. Take out and stir. Repeat at 30 second intervals until melted.
14.To pipe the web, the filling must still be warm. Spoon into piping bag. Start in the centre of the tart and pipe a spiral over the chocolate filling.
15.Get the kids to grab a toothpick and from the centre draw a line out to the edge of the tart. Repeat this process until you have your web. Place in the fridge to cool.
The spiders
16.Place greaseproof paper over the print-out of the spiders’ legs.
17.Using the same piping bag as you have used for the web, pipe 4 thin lines to create spiders’ legs. Get the kids to place a NESTLÉ BAKERS’ CHOICE White Melt on the top to create the spider’s body while the chocolate legs are still warm. Repeat to create 2-3 more spiders.
18.Dip a toothpick into the reserved dark chocolate filling mis and dot onto the spider to make the eyes.
19.Wait until they are set before placing on the tart. Some can go on the tart and the rest can go onto the plates when serving