no bake speculoos (biscoff) tarts
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What are Speculoos? A lightly spiced caramelised biscuit (cookie). You can buy them in biscuit form or as a jarred cookie paste (butter). I'm using the popular Lotus brand speculoos/biscoff paste and biscuits from Belgium in these no bake "pantry ingredients" tarts.
'Speculoos' in Flemish and 'Biscoff' in English
Lets get started, today I've used four 11 cm x 6 cm (4.5 inches x 2.5 inches) individual tart tins. You could also use 8 smaller tart tins. The recipe is easily doubled so if your loving your cookie butter go for it!!
Little tart tins; a gift from Ireland .. thank you Emer, I love them!!
Ingredients
1 packet (124 grams) Biscoff/Speculoos biscuits
62 grams (2.18 oz) unsalted butter melted
80 grams (2.82 oz) chopped dark chocolate
8 tsps of homemade or store bought dulce de leche or thick caramel sauce
500 ml (16.90 oz) whipping cream
400 g jar of Speculoo/Biscoff cookie paste
Biscoff biscuits (cookies) in Australia come in 124 gram packets.
A basic crumb crust for cheesecakes and desserts is half the ratio of melted butter to biscuit crumbs.
So for 124 grams of biscuit crumbs I used 62 grams of butter.
Method
Crush the biscuits, by either pulsing in a food processor or popping in a zip lock bag and bashing with a rolling pin. Place the crushed biscuits in a medium mixing bowl.
Melt the butter. Make a well in the biscuit crumbs and *quickly mix together with a wooden spoon.
Divide mixture between the tart tins you have chosen and press firmly with your finger tips or small spoon. covering the bases and sides. Chill for 20 minutes.
Melt your chopped chocolate. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon coat the inside of the shells with melted chocolate. Chill until chocolate sets.
Spread two teaspoons of caramel per tart tin (one teaspoon each if using eight smaller tins). Refrigerate whilst you prepare filling.
To make the filling put the whipping cream and speculoos/biscoff paste into a bowl.
Whip (briefly) to combine. You are just "combining" it is literally seconds not minutes, your mixture will thicken almost immediately. Do not over beat you don't want your mixture to split.
Pipe or plonk. Probably best suited to plonking more than piping, but you can pipe if desired. If you are plonking, spread a generous amount of filling in each tart shell and either swirl or lift up soft peaks with a small flat knife. If piping, you get a soft "almost hold" finish. Pop them in the fridge for a final chill.
Either way you will have some leftover filling, this can be enjoyed from small dessert glasses with whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel, chocolate decorations.... oh and cookies for dipping if you bought extra.
Unmould your chilled tarts ready for serving. Top with a dark chocolate decorations if desired.
*Notes: all biscuit (cookie) crumb bases are much easier to press into tins if used quickly whilst the mixture is still warm from the butter. If your room is cold or you were called away briefly you can find it more difficult to get a neat finish. A quick microwave on low for a few seconds will make the mixture easier to work with again.
In Australia Biscoff biscuits are available from Coles supermarkets for under $2 a pack. Speculoos (Biscoff) butter is available from Dutch Grocery stores in Australia including "It's all Dutch to me" "Dutchfood" online and Continental Delicatessens.
Want to swirl up your own Biscoff Spread? Jamieanne at the Sweetest Kitchen does exactly that swirls up her own out of the biscuits, coconut milk and more. Find her here. Go a step further and bake your own Speculaas, Martha Stewarts recipe here.
Happy Baking or No Baking :)