South African Peppermint Fridge Tart recipe

Peppermint fridge tart is really popular around these parts – and for good reason. It’s delicious! And quite simple to make. Really. The best thing about it, is that you can get away with including dairy-free substitutes (mostly) and you can also use low fat and healthier alternatives for some of the ingredients. However, I did not. I went bad-ass all the way, people. And it was worth each and every scrumptious and calorie-laden mouthful.

Something to note: this recipe has undergone some careful tweaking… I’d refer to it as a bit of an ‘upgrade’ to the traditional peppermint pudding/tart due to the addition of the chocolate cake and chocolate mousse layers. In fact, it’s more like a jacked-up, peppermint-caramel-chocolate trifle, really – sans the fruit, jelly and custard, of course.  But if you’re looking for less of a fuss  and would prefer to use the original recipe, omit the cake and chocolate mousse layers and make your fridge tart with just the caramel mousse, tennis biscuits and grated peppermint chocolate amounts as listed below – this traditional dessert in it’s original, simpler glory is still incredibly delicious. Treat yourself and give this no-bake dessert a try some time, I don’t think you will regret it. (Your hips may disagree but just tell them to shush!).

 What you’ll need: 

- this recipe serves up to 20 people, depending on the portion sizes.

• 1 can of caramel (385 grams), softened and stirred in a bowl
• 500ml cream or Orley Whip (or half of each as I did)
• 100 grams Peppermint Crisp Chocolate
• 1 slab Peppermint Aero
• 150 grams store-bought chocolate mousse powder (you can also make your own as I sometimes do) – prepared and chilled
• enough milk to prepare your chocolate mousse  as per the box (I used Oat ‘milk’)
• 1 packet of Tennis biscuits (they have coconut in them)
• 10 chocolate muffins sliced into 1cm high discs (you can also slice up a chocolate cake instead).
• A 35cmX25cm dish (use whatever you have, even if you need to make two smaller tarts).

To make your tart/s:

1. Slice your muffins or chocolate cake into thin discs no more than 1 cm thick and set aside.

 

2.  Whip your cream till stiff-ish peaks form. If you’re using Orley Whip (a dairy-free cream substitute), make sure it is very chilled and whip it first in a separate bowl before adding to the whipped cream. (This helps to create volume, I’ve discovered). Below is a picture of the Orley whip, beaten separately.

 

3. Stir your caramel until it is soft and more-or-less lump-free.

 

4. Add the caramel to the whipped cream and beat with an electric beater – until just combined – to create a velvety caramel mousse. (Don’t overdo it, now). It should look light and fluffy like this:

 

5. Next, grate half of your Peppermint crisp and crumble half of your Peppermint Aero into the caramel mousse mixture. The remaining chocolate will be grated in between the tart layers.

 

6. Now we’re ready to layer! First, put a thin layer of the sliced chocolate muffins or cake in the bottom of your dish. Next, add a huge dollop of your peppermint-caramel mousse and spread to create an even layer about 2-3cm’s thick.

 

7. Once your peppermint-caramel mousse layer is all smoothed out, grate a little of both kinds of chocolate evenly over the surface and then add your third layer – the tennis biscuits. Like this:

 

8. And here’s my favourite part… the chocolate mousse. I think the addition of this component was a smart move – and no-one has ever complained! The chocolate mousse should be firm, quite stable but still very easy to spread. This is what my store-bought chocolate mousse ended up looking like once I’d whipped it:

 

9. I use only one layer of chocolate mousse, smack-bang in the middle of the tart, but if you want to do a second layer, there should be enough mousse to go that route too. If you’re going with one layer like me, make sure it’s a substantial one. Going with a barely-there layer of the good stuff is wrong on many levels. Not to mention, evil. Plus, no-one likes a stingy chocolate mousse-giver anyway. So liberally spread that chocolate moussey goodness all around and don’t forget to grate more of your two different peppermint chocolates on top of that before moving on to the next layer.

10. Once you’ve grated the peppermint chocolates over your chocolate mousse layer, it’s time to start adding more slices of chocolate cake. Place the discs closely together (there will be small gaps, of course) and proceed to flatten the cake layer surface very gently with your hand by patting lightly across the layer’s surface. This’ll just help to keep the tart level and even before adding your last layer of peppermint-caramel mousse.

11. Lastly, pile on as much of your peppermint-caramel mousse as you want and smooth it out until you have another even layer. Grate more chocolate on top, cover with plastic cling film and refridgerate  until the guests arrive! This is a perfect dessert for making in advance – I always make mine the night before I need to serve it. This is what my layers looked like:

 

And it’s as simple as that. There will probably be enough mousse, chocolate and biscuits left over to make another small-ish tart or a couple of small, individual serving-sized tarts. I always make 1 or 2 small ones from the leftover ingredients – it’s essential. It does so help to appease the overactive salivary glands and I can never wait until the next day to taste it anyway!