Gluten Free Chocolate Fudge Pop Tarts
Ingredients
For the dough
2 1/4 cups (315 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter)
2 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
10 tablespoons (50 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon (14 g) canola oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
FUDGE FILLING
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup (38 g) confectioners’ sugar
CHOCOLATE ICING
1 1/2 cups (173 g) confectioners’ sugar
4 tablespoons (20 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 to 4 tablespoons tepid water
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
First, make the dough. In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, granulated sugar and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add the melted butter, oil, vanilla and milk, and mix to combine. The dough will be thick and a bit greasy. Knead the dough until it is smooth. It should hold together well. Allow it to sit while you make the filling.
To make the filling, place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized microwave safe bowl, and microwave it for 45 seconds at a time at 60% power, stirring in between, until smooth and completely melted. Add the mascarpone cheese, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Add the 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar a few tablespoons at a time by sifting it into the filling, stirring in between until smooth. Allow the filling to cool while you make the pastry crust.
Turn the pastry dough out onto a large sheet of unbleached parchment paper, and cover with another sheet of parchment. Roll into a rectangle a bit more than 1/8-inch thick (the thickness of a nickel). With a pastry cutter or sharp knife, slice into 2-inch-by-4-inch rectangles. Gather, reroll and cut the scraps into rectangles.
Spread about 2 tablespoons of the fudge filling on top of half of the rectangles in an even layer, stopping about 1/4 inch from the edges. Cover each with another rectangle, and press along the edges to seal. With wet fingers, secure the seal along all 4 edges of each pastry by blending the edges together. Transfer the pastries to the prepared baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer and chill until firm, about 7 minutes. Once the pastries are firm, remove the baking sheet from the freezer and poke sizable holes in pairs down the entire length of the pastry, about 10 in all.
Place the pastries in the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, until the tops are set (about 12 minutes). Once set, the tops of the pastries will no longer be shiny wet – they will have more of a matte finish. Some of the filling may leak out of the pastries in the last couple minutes of baking, and it’s fine. Remove the pastries from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheet.
While the pastries are cooling, make the icing. In a medium-sized bowl, place the 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar and the 4 tablespoons cocoa powder. Add 2 tablespoons of water, and mix until smooth. It will form a very thick paste. Add more water by the tablespoon, and mix until smooth and well-combined. The icing should be thick but slowly pourable.
Once the pastries are completely cool, spread about 2 tablespoons of icing on top of each, and allow to dry until set, and then serve immediately. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. They can be toasted before serving, just like the original. Freeze any additional leftovers. Defrost in the toaster oven.