If only all ornaments were filled with gravity-defying mousse. A girl can dream! # 280: Peppermint Bark Vertical Tarts

Big news! Nate and I moved last weekend to a bigger apartment and I’m so so excited for baking in my new light-filled kitchen. It feels like that’s a long time off though. We’re still very much in the “box maze” phase of unpacking. At least I was able to unearth my favorite Santa mug! Little wins.

Ok so these tarts might be the silliest bake I’ve ever done. I’m fairly certain Prue Leith made them up just for a Great British Bake Off technical challenge, so it’s proof that she is an evil mastermind underneath the posh accent and colorful necklaces.

Crisp almond-y pastry rings holding slices of airy mint chocolate mousse, topped with mascarpone whipped cream, peppermint bark and held up by what must be Christmas magic.

And yes, one of them fell over like an exhausted diva as soon as I was done taking photos.

I store my almond flour in the freezer so I had to leave it on the counter to thaw for a little bit before sifting it into the shortcrust dough. Though in hindsight, the extra moisture would have been helpful! I ended up adding water to the dough to get it to come together.

Don’t your doughs normally look like piles of sand? Well then.

Seriously, what is happening here?

Phew, much better! It was just thirsty.

I baked up all the little scraps and ate them while the rings cooled. Baker perks!

These little springforms are back to save the day! Springform pans by day, pastry rings by night.

Three cheers for pie weights too! There’s no way these rings will stand if they have bad posture.

Meanwhile, it’s mousse time.

Even my gelatin is thirsty! It’s an add-water-to-everything kind of day.

Luscious. I went with a mix of half 72% dark chocolate and half peppermint bark so the mint flavor wasn’t too crazy.

What is it called when a snowman has a temper tantrum?

A meltdown!

Sunny with a chance of whipped cream clouds.

Prepped their little beds for their fridge nap.

Success – the rings didn’t slump!

Embrace the ridiculous for five minutes and really lean into coaxing a wobbly slice of mousse to stand up straight.

Yes I got mousse on my camera to get this shot. Worth it!

Happy munching!

Recipe idea & crust recipe from: https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/prue-leith-chocolate-hazelnut-raspberry-vertical-tarts/

Mousse proportions from: https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/7472-chocolate-mousse-cake