Chocolate shortcrust pastry is a mouthwatering variation of the traditional Italian sweet shortcrust pastry recipe (Pasta Frolla). It's one of the simplest and most popular basic recipes in Italian pastry.
You can use this chocolate shortcrust pastry recipe as a base for delicious tarts, cakes or to make yummy cookies and many other desserts.
Flour, eggs, sugar, butter, unsweetened cocoa and a pinch of baking powder to make it crumbly. A quick and easy recipe to delight your kids, friends and family with fantastic homemade desserts.
Chocolate shortcrust pastry is perfect for berry and strawberry tarts. You can make a chocolate pie crust and just fill it with ricotta or mascarpone cream. But these are just tips. There are endless recipes that you can make with our recipe and your imagination!
Try this Italian Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry recipe: easy-to-make, with a crumbly, melting texture and delicious flavor, perfect for making fantasticItalian desserts.
Ingredients
- Prep Time: 15 Min + at least 1 hour in the fridge
- Cook Time: 0 Min
- Servings: 6
These are the doses to make: about 500 g (1.1 pound) of Chocolate Pasta Frolla; a tart of about 22 cm (9 inch) in diameter; about 30 cookies.
- 200 g (1 ⅓ cups) of “00” flour
- 100 g (½ cup) of granulated sugar
- 40 g (⅓ cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 120 g (~1 stick) of unsalted cold butter
- 1 medium egg, at room temperature
- 1 medium egg yolk, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon of salt
- 4 g (1 teaspoon) of baking powder
Kitchen Tools and Equipment
- First of all, to make chocolate shortcrust pastry it's essential to have a proper surface for the dough.
- Even if you use an elettric mixer, you'll still have to form a loaf by hand in the end. A kneading surface is still essential for flattening the dough, for all its uses, once it's ready.
- We suggest you use a marble pastry board. This material in fact, unlike wood, keeps the dough at a cool temperature for a longer time.
- Finally you will need a rolling pin to flatten the dough. There are various types: the classic wooden one, a marble rolling pin or even one made with a modern non-stick materials, such as silicone for example.
- Depending on how you want to use the cocoa shortbread, you'll need a cake pan with a removable base. There are different sizes for large or small tarts.
- Ceramic pie weights are also very useful for baking shortcrust pastry without filling.
- To make cookies there are really many types of cookie cutters for every occasion: Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter and many others.
Instructions
Obviously the chocolate shortcrust pastry follows the same basic rules of the preparation of the classic shortcrust pastry, for which we refer to our recipe "Pasta Frolla Recipe | Italian Sweet Shortcrust Pastry".
In short, however, remember to always use cold ingredients, work quickly and with cold hands. If you are using a mixer, do not work the ingredients too long to avoid overheating them.
The dough must be chilled in the refrigerator before being used, in order to allow the butter, which will have softened during the working process, to regain the right consistency.
NOTE: You can easily knead Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry either by hand or with kitchen machine, as you prefer. Let's see how to do it both ways!
How to Make Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry Recipe by Hand
Step 1a) - If you're working by hand on a pastry board, first sift the flour and cocoa then mix these two powders together in a bowl. Now add sugar, salt, yeast and mix.
Step 2a) - Place the powders on the pastry board and make a hole in the center. Add the room temperature eggs and knead. Finally, add the cold butter cut into pieces.
It's best to use a MARBLE PASTRY BOARD because it's really important not to overheat the ingredients!
Step 3a) - Now knead quickly with your hands for a few minutes. It's IMPORTANT to knead only with your fingertips. The heat from your hands can melt the butter too much and alter the final flavor of the chocolate shortcrust pastry.
Form a loaf and WRAP in cling film. LET COOL for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
How to Make Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry Recipe with a Mixer
Step 1b) - If you're using an electric mixer, first you still need to sift and then mix together flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking powder. Transfer everything to the bowl of a planetary mixer. Now add the cold butter in small pieces. Mix quickly for about a minute using the flat beater attachment.
Step 2b) - Then add the eggs and mix on medium speed until the dough is perfectly smooth, increasing the speed just a bit towards the end.
Knead, both by hand and with the machine, for the shortest possible time, so as not to overheat the dough, until the mixture is compact and elastic.
Step 3b) - Form a loaf and wrap it in cling film. Leave to rest for at least 1 hour in the fridge. Chocolate shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla al cacao) is ready!
YOU MUST ALSO TRY:
- White Chocolate Fruit Tart
- Torta Tenerina | Italian Chocolate Brownie Recipe
- Chocolate Salami | Salame di Cioccolato
- Italian Sponge Cake | Pan di Spagna
- Fig and Ricotta Tart | Crostata Fichi e Ricotta
You can roll it out with a rolling pin on a pastry board, sprinkled with a little flour, until you get a thickness of about ⅘ mm (⅕ inch) for an Italian tart or a pie crust and a little more to make cookies.
Storage
Keep the cocoa shortcrust pastry in the refrigerator, wrapped in cling film, for 3-4 days.
You can freeze it and keep in a frizzer for about a month. Thaw it in the refrigerator when it's time to use it.
How to Use it
The main uses of chocolate shortcrust pastry are obviously the preparation of tarts and cookies.
You can bake the tart already filled, for example with jam to have an Italian Crostata. Or bake the empty shortcrust pastry shell first, then add filling such as Pastry Cream and fresh fruit for an amazing chocolate Italian Fruit Tart.
To make the cookies, simply roll out the chocolate shortcrust pastry to the desired thickness and cut them out with cookie cutters. Place them on a lined baking sheet and bake at 180°C (356 F) for about 15 minutes.
Variations and Tips
The recipe we showed you is the basic recipe. Of course, you can make some variations to make it special.
The taste of chocolate lends itself to many combinations and with a little imagination, chocolate shortcrust pastry can become a new dessert every time. Let's see together how to do it!
Double Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
Add ½ cup dark chocolate chips to the dough to make a double chocolate shortcrust pastry. Recipe for extra dark chocolate true lovers!
Chocolate & Coffee Shortcrust Pastry
Chocolate and coffee is another classic combination. Add a tablespoon of instant coffee to the cocoa and you have a coffee-flavored chocolate shortcrust pastry.
Ideas for Christmas
For Christmas you can make fragrant and delicious chocolate and cinnamon pasta frolla cookies: add half a tablespoon of Cinnamon Powder to the dough.
You can also flavor the chocolate pasta frolla cookies with Sicilian Candied Orange Peel.
Salty Chocolate Pasta Frolla Cookies
Finally, we suggest two slightly special combinations that will make your Chocolate Short Crust Pastry stand out.
For a sweet-savory taste, add a teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Salt Fine Grain to the dough.
For a spicy touch, add a teaspoon of Hot Chili powder.
You'll have salty-hot chocolate pasta frolla cookies full of passion, nothing better for Valentine's Day!
Best Type of Flour to Use
"00" flour is definitely the most suitable for shortcrust pastry. In fact, the lower protein will make your chocolate shortcrust pastry softer and crumblier.
Cocoa shortcrust pastry requires a slightly lower quantity of flour than classic sweet shortcrust pastry, as it's compensated by the presence of cocoa.
There are also shortcrust pastries made with the addition of less refined flours, such as cornmeal or whole wheat flour (about 50%).
This gives the dough a rustic and homemade aspect suitable for jam tarts or for some types of breakfast cookies, having a rustic and unrefined aspect.
Recipe Card
Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 g flour - 1 ⅓ cups
- 100 g granulated sugar - ½ cup
- 40 g cocoa powder - ⅓ cup, unsweetened
- 120 g butter - ~1 stick, unsulted and cold
- 1 egg - medium, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk - medium, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 g baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Instructions
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE SHORTCRUST PASTRY RECIPE BY HAND
- Sift the flour and cocoa then mix these two powders together in a bowl. Now add sugar, salt, yeast and mix.
- Place the powders on the pastry board and make a hole in the center. Add the room temperature eggs and knead. Finally, add the cold butter cut into pieces.
- Kead quickly with your hands for a few minutes. It's IMPORTANT to knead only with your fingertips. The heat from your hands can melt the butter too much and alter the final flavor of the chocolate shortcrust pastry.
- Form a loaf and WRAP in cling film. LET COOL for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE SHORTCRUST PASTRY RECIPE WITH A MIXER
- If you're using an electric mixer, first you still need to sift and then mix together flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Transfer everything to the bowl of a planetary mixer. Now add the cold butter in small pieces. Mix quickly for about a minute using the flat beater attachment.
- Then add the eggs and mix on medium speed until the dough is perfectly smooth, increasing the speed just a bit towards the end.
- Knead, both by hand and with the machine, for the shortest possible time, so as not to overheat the dough, until the mixture is compact and elastic.
- Form a loaf and wrap it in cling film. Leave to rest for at least 1 hour in the fridge. Chocolate shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla al cacao) is ready!
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