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The easy recipe for Valentine's Day success: Heavenly, rich chocolate tartlets

“No relationship can be perfect.” That's what my mother told me every time I'd have a tiff with the boyfriend of the moment. She told me that again before I got married. Not exactly the most encouraging send-off, but a realistic statement nonetheless.

Of course, she was right. All I had to do was look around to see that every couple I ever knew had their moments. Every couple, that is, except Valentine's Day + Chocolate. There's a match made in heaven and good for the ages.

I don't know who introduced Feb. 14 to chocolate, but she (or he) should ascend to first place in the pantheon of great matchmakers. Nothing says love like chocolate. (If Hallmark or some chocolate trade association is responsible for putting those two together, please keep the disillusioning facts to yourself.)

Chocolate is everything you want your valentine to be: sweet yet surprising; a good mixer, happy to be matched with all kinds of other flavors; a pleaser; and a looker. Call me silly, but I think chocolate is gorgeous in all its states, from glossy, when it's in bars, to velvety, when it's melted.

I always make something chocolate on Valentine's Day for my husband. In my early years in the kitchen — which were also my early years with Michael — I made only complicated things. I was learning how to cook and bake, and I wanted everything to be a challenge. Now, I just want everything to be delicious. And if it can be easy and delicious, that's even better. These tartlets are easy and delicious. They're also beautiful. I love that they're so wonderful-looking not because I decorate them but because the chocolate is inherently sleek and handsome.

The filling for these tartlets is everything. It's a chocolate ganache: a mixture of semi- or bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream and butter. Yes, it's rich. Very rich. But that's what it's supposed to be, and you really wouldn't want it any other way. Chilled, the filling sets to a creamy cutability. Once it's in your mouth, it does the chocolate magic thing: It melts slowly and, because it's so creamy, its flavor releases slowly and hangs on. Chocolate is famous for melting at body temperature, and you'll appreciate that with these small treats.

As for the crust, have it your way. You can use store-bought pie dough or puff pastry or buy ready-made graham cracker or chocolate cookie crusts. Or you can make your own.

And if you want to decorate the tartlets, do it.

Dorie Greenspan's Creamy Chocolate Tartlets

Take-away tips

• Either semisweet or bittersweet chocolate is the best choice for the ganache. Choose a chocolate that tastes great out of hand, because the flavor won't change much with the addition of cream and butter.

• The bywords for ganache are “slow” and “gentle.” Be patient with the chocolate-cream mixture. Warm the ingredients over very low heat, stirring ceaselessly but with a light hand. Don't let the mixture get too hot; if you do, the fats in the butter and chocolate will separate.

• Pull the pan from the heat as soon as the chocolate is melted; the ganache should be smooth and velvety.

• The butter should be at room temperature — but not oily — when you add it to the ganache.

• Pour the ganache into the crusts as soon as it's made, so that you get a smooth top. If you want to make the recipe in stages, you can make and refrigerate the ganache ahead of time; just be sure to warm it gently to return it to a pourable state. If you'd prefer to swirl the ganache, allow it to set to the consistency of frosting before filling the tartlets. Use a small spatula, a knife or the back of a spoon to pattern the top of the ganache.

• Refrigerate the tartlets for at least 2 hours or overnight. You want the ganache to set and chill, so that you get all the pleasure of the mixture going from cold to warm, from semisolid to melted.

• I usually finish the tartlets with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a shower of chocolate shavings and serve them with kisses and hugs, extras that make any relationship — perfect or a smidge less than perfect — even sweeter.

Dorie Greenspan

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