White Chocolate and Blackberry Tartletes

Tonight, after having had a simple dinner of Hot and Sour soup, we were jonesing for something sweet, so I threw this together. I was going to add pine nuts and a kiwi fruit coulis, but I decided to just keep it simple.

White Chocolate & Blackberry Tartletes

1 package phyllo cups, 15 cups (600)
7/8 pieces of a 4oz. bar of white chocolate (the first piece mysteriously disappeared...) (503)
2 pkgs. fresh blackberries (about 1 1/3 c.) (108.5)
1 TB Splenda
2 TB water
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp. vodka (slurry) (25)
2 TB Vanilla Extract


Heat the chocolate over a double boiler just until melted; drizzle a spoonful of the melted chocolate in each phyllo cup, and pour out the excess, leaving enough to coat the entire surface of the inside of the cup; chill in freezer until the chocolate sets up.

*This step is important because it ensures that the phyllo doesn't get soggy from the berries.



Set aside the 15 prettiest blackberries, these will be used fresh in the dessert. In a small saucepan, combine the rest of the blackberries, the splenda, the water and the vanilla; bring to a simmer and continue to simmer until the blackberries break down and liquify. Pour the cooked berries through a sieve into a small bowl and use a spatula to press the liquid through the sieve, pressing until all that is left is the seeds, which you can discard, and return the reserved blackberry juice to the pan. Stir the cornstarch and water mixture into the blackberry juice. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 30 seconds). Remove from heat.

Remove the phyllo cups from the freezer and place about a half-teaspoon of the thickened blackberry juice into each cup, or halfway up the side of the cup. Place a fresh blackberry in the center of each cup. If you have leftover white chocolate, you can drizzle a little over each berry. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

These are great because they can be made well in advance and won't get soggy.



Makes 15 tartlets, 82 calories each.