S'more Tarts

The blogasphere is awash with s'more recipes.  Lately, I've seen s'more cupcakes, s'more pudding, s'more ice cream cake and s'more pie, to name a few.  If I didn't love the graham cracker/chocolate/toasted marshmallow combo I would be rolling my eyes and begging for no more s'more.  But I do love that combo and so, after six grueling rounds of recipe development, I would like to present my little offering to the s'more recipe repertoire:  Mason jar s'more tarts. It's a good thing moderation is built into each serving or else my family would be buying s'more pants, all a size bigger. 

S'more Tarts

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
12 4-ounce Mason jars

Filling:
6 ounces milk chocolate (Dove is really good)
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (Ghirardelli baking bar)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Marshmallow Topping:
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon vanilla 
pinch of salt

Prepare crusts: 
Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Place 2 tablespoons of mixture into each mason jar and tamp down using a spice jar or juice glass. Set aside.

Prepare filling:
Chop chocolate into small chunks; set aside in a large bowl. Crack eggs into another bowl, whisk until smooth and set aside. In a medium saucepan heat cream until hot but not boiling.  While whisking, pour 1/2 cup hot cream over eggs.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour egg/cream mixture back into saucepan with remaining hot cream.  Place pan over medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture is 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.  If you don't have a thermometer, whisk the mixture until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon but stop before the eggs are scrambled. 

Pour the egg/cream mixture over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Using a scoop or large spoon, divide the chocolate mixture evenly over each crust.  Put the lids on the mason jars and chill for several hours or overnight.

Prepare marshmallow topping:
Whisk the egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Or use a double boiler if you have one.)  Heat mixture to 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, whisking occasionally.  Remove mixture from heat and using an electric mixer, beat egg white mixture until very thick and glossy.  Stiff peaks should form when the beaters are lifted from the topping.  Add vanilla and pinch of salt and beat until incorporated. 

Transfer the marshmallow topping into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.  Pipe the filling over each tart and brown with a propane torch. Best served cold.

Notes on the recipe:
I tried this using all milk chocolate and again using all dark chocolate.  We all preferred the 1/2 and 1/2 ratio of milk to dark.

You can certainly use mini marshmallows instead of making your own marshmallow topping.

This is best served cold, straight from the fridge.  You can even top with marshmallow and then chill.  The lid might smash the topping a little bit.

Propane torches are available at Home Depot for about $13 and they last for a long time.