Chocolate Raspberry Tartlets......a near disaster

For Father's Day, I decided to make Chocolate Raspberry Tarlets. As Dad's favorite fruit is raspberries, I thought it would be a fitting dessert. I found the raspberries on sale and remembered a recipe from the Ghirardelli Chocolate Cookbook. But Something went wrong!!

 I couldn't get the tarts out of the pans! Not sure what happened....too thin?.....too thick?........not baked long enough?(it is very hard to tell when chocolate is done).......baked too long?.........the recipe not quite right?..........Your guess is as good as mine! I tried so hard to gently ease them out. Just about the time I would have one out, it would crumble or I would stick my thumb through it! I did finally get three pretty decent ones. But when I went to put them together the next morning, they were soggy crumbly!! There went one of my good ones!

On to plan B!!

I was not going to waste all that hard work! So I did some quick thinking and decided to finish crumbling the tarts up, layer it in dessert dishes with the filling and top it off with the raspberries.

What do you think?

They were delicious! The chocolate filling made up for it. Which is another story....... I didn't have cream, but I did have whole milk. I was worried about it not getting thick so I added a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream. Lovely! I also added a bit of instant clear gel, as I was very worried! The next morning I could stand a spoon up in it. Guess I shouldn't have worried so.

A few pictures on the festive tablecloth.

There wasn't anything left by nightfall so I think it was a good save.

If you have any tips on making tart crust/shortbread, I would love to hear them.