Chocolate Cream Tarts Recipe (2024)

Next time a chocolate craving hits, give this easy recipe for Chocolate Cream Tarts a try! I usually end up eating several of these yummy bite sized treats.

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Thick, creamy, and rich, these Chocolate Tarts are made with delicious chocolate pudding inside of the perfect buttery and flaky pie crusts, topped with a homemade slightly sweet and light whipped cream!

These are basically mini tarts made with a refrigerated pie crust. I used a mason jar to cut out the dough into circles to fit my Wilton Mini Tart Pan. The chocolate filling is instant pudding. If you want to save even more time, use a pudding cup and cut back on the preparation.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Dessert Recipe

Perfect bite sized dessert
Can be used for the holidays, or just a classic dessert recipe
You only need 6 simple ingredients
Just as tasty as a slice of chocolate pie, but without all the hassle

Ingredients Needed

Refrigerated pie crust dough
Instant chocolate pudding mix
Milk
Whipping cream
Powdered sugar
Grated chocolate, for garnish

How To Make Chocolate Cream Tarts

Step One: Preheat oven to 450F. Roll out your pie dough and cut into 12 (3-inch) circles. I used a mason jar with a wide top to do mine. You will need to reroll the dough scraps near the end to get the 12 circles.
Step Two: Press dough circles into a mini tart pan. Poke each tart with a fork.
Step Three: Bake for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Note: these bake very fast and burn quickly!
Step Four: Remove tart shells from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Step Five: In a large bowl, whisk the chocolate pudding and milk with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and you can see it start to thicken, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate for about 10 to 15 minutes or until set.
Step Six: Add a spoonful of chocolate pudding to each tart. Set aside.
Step Seven: In a large bowl, add whipping cream and powdered sugar and beat on high until it thickens and forms soft peaks. Pipe whipped cream on top of chocolate pudding with a pastry bag and Wilton tip.
Step Eight: Sprinkle on grated chocolate for garnish.

Helpful Kitchen Equipment Needed

What To Serve With Chocolate Tarts

Butter Tart Squares
Pineapple Tarts
Pecan Butter Tarts
Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

Helpful Tips and Tricks

Make sure that you’re using chilled pie crust dough, it makes it easier to roll out. If you find that you’re having trouble getting the last few tart crusts cut out, try chilling the remainder of the dough for 5-10 minutes before trying to roll it out and work with it again.
We like making these tarts for gatherings and parties, so oftentimes, you’ll find me doubling, sometimes even tripling the recipe to make even more chocolate tarts to have on hand when entertaining. Besides, any tarts that we may have leftover (which rarely happes, these always get gobbled up), they can be stored for later, and they can even be frozen for a few months. See more info and tips on that below in the freezing section of this post.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

I made my own whipped cream with whipping cream and icing sugar (aka powdered sugar). Cool Whip or a can of whipping cream works too. Sprinkle with a little cocoa powder for presentation and you have yourself a beautiful dessert. I guarantee these will go fast!
Change the recipe up by using different flavours of instant pudding. I bet vanilla would also be tasty! But you can make it with any other flavor, like Butterscotch, dark chocolate, lemon, etc.

Leftover Storage

Leftover tarts should be placed in a closed airtight container and kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

I suggest waiting to add the whipped cream until you’re ready to serve these tarts. So, I don’t suggest trying to store these with the whipped cream. That would change the texture of the tarts when you go to enjoy them again.

Can I Freeze This?

Absolutely. However, I would freeze these without the whipped cream. Wrap the leftover tarts in freezer paper and freeze for up to 3 months.

Additionally, you can flash freeze these tarts before storing them in a freezer safe container with parchment paper in between the layers for up to 3 months.

What kind of pudding do I need?

When you’re making these Chocolate Tarts, you need to make sure you’re grabbing the Instant Pudding, not the Cook and Serve Pudding mix.

Why does my tart crust keep flattening out?

If you find that your tart crusts keep trying to become flat instead of rounding out in your muffin tin, I have found that pricking them with the tines of a fork help prevent them from doing this.

If you fear that this may be a problem for you and your Chocolate Pie Tarts, it would be smart to just use the fork and prick the tart dough before baking them.

Can I make my own tart crust?

Certainly! If you have a homemade tart crust recipe that you know, love making, and enjoy usign with your other tart recipes, then by all means, please use your own tart crust recipe.

I’m all about convenience and don’t mind taking a shortcut to make recipes easier, faster, and more readily available for people to make themselves, that’s why I chose to use the refrigerated pre-made pie crust for this Chocolate Cream Tart recipe.

More Tart Recipes

We can’t seem to get enough tarts arond here. Here are a few of my favorite tart recipes we have whipped up in the kitchen:

Strawberry Coconut Tarts
Cream Cheese Fruit Tarts
Caramel Apple Tarts
No Bake Cherry Tarts
Grasshopper Tarts
Chocolate Caramel Tart

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