Chocolate And Pecan Tartlets Recipes

Steps:

• Place crushed wafers in a bowl. Drizzle with rum and toss to combine. Let stand 15 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons pecans., In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave milk, covered, on high for 15 seconds. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla; microwave 15-30 seconds longer or until blended, stirring twice. Stir into wafer mixture., Place tart shells on a serving plate. Fill each with 1 teaspoon wafer mixture; top each with 1 teaspoon frosting. Sprinkle with additional pecans. Refrigerate leftovers.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to a 12-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Wrap dough around rolling pin, and unwrap over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan; trim edge of dough.
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, light corn syrup, 4 teaspoons melted butter, and the vanilla. Scatter chocolate evenly over tart shell. Pour filling over chocolate. Arrange pecans on top, as desired. Dot with 2 teaspoons chilled butter.
• Place tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling is set, 45 to 60 minutes. If pecans are browning too quickly, tent pan with foil. Remove from oven; while still hot, drizzle with bourbon, if desired. Let tart cool completely before serving.

Steps:

• To make the crust:
• Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse two or three times to combine. Add the butter and continue pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water by drizzling about 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each drizzle. Stop once the dough begins to come together.
• Transfer the dough to a board and use the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper to press it together. Pat into a disk approximately 6 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
• On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to a 13 to 14-inch circle, flouring the dough and board as necessary to keep it from sticking. Roll up the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it into the tart pan. Gently lift the edges to ease the dough into the corners of the pan, then push the dough down gently to be certain the dough around the sides is 1/4 inch thick. Use a paring knife to cut excess dough from the rim of the pan. If necessary, pat a bit of the dough trimmings into any thin spots. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375degreesF. Place the tart pan on a baking sheet.
• Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork, line with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the parchment and weights, and continue to bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Sprinkle the chopped chocolate evenly over the bottom of the crust and bake for an additional minute, just to melt the chocolate. Remove from the oven and use the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula to spread the chocolate in an even layer. Let cool on a rack while you prepare the filling. Raise the oven temperature to 400degreesF.
• To make the filling:
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water and stir over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, without stirring, swirling the pan so the caramel colors evenly. If sugar crystals form on the sides of the pan, brush with a wet pastry brush. Test the color of the caramel by drizzling a few drops onto a white plate. When the color is medium to dark amber, remove from the heat. Slowly and carefully - it will bubble up - add the cream.
• Return the caramel to medium heat and cook for 3 minutes to thicken slightly, reducing the heat to medium-low if the caramel bubbles too much. Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.
• Place the tart shell on a baking sheet.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the vanilla, egg, and yolk. Slowly whisk into the caramel. Stir in the melted butter, followed by the nuts and nibs, if using. Pour the filling into the prepared tart shell. The filling will come to the top of the shell. (If the crust has shrunk during baking, it may not hold all the filling.)
• Bake the tart for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 375degreesF and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the filling is set.
• Let cool on a rack for about 10 minutes. While still warm, move the tart in the pan to loosen the edges where the caramel has stuck, but keep it in the pan.
• Let cool completely before removing the tart ring.
• Serve each wedge of tart with a dollop of the cocoa whipped cream.
• Cocoa Whipped Cream:
• Place the cream in a chilled metal bowl or mixer bowl. With a whisk, or the whisk attachment, whip the cream until slightly frothy. Combine the sugar with the cocoa powder. Sprinkle into the cream and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 1 hour.

Steps:

• Make the dough: Pulse the flour, cocoa, confectioners' sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter; pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal with pea-size bits of butter. Add the egg and pulse once or twice. (Stop before the dough gathers into a ball.) Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Place the dough on a large sheet of lightly floured parchment paper. Roll into a 12-inch round, no more than 1/8 inch thick. Invert the dough over a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom and peel off the parchment; press the dough into the bottom and sides of the pan. (If the dough tears, just pat it back together.) Trim the excess dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.
• Position racks in the middle and lower third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the crust with foil, then fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake on the middle rack, 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Prepare the filling: Coarsely chop 1 cup pecans. Combine the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla and kosher salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring, until the mixture turns dark amber, 6 to 8 minutes. Immediately stir in the chopped pecans and cook 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the corn syrup and brown sugar until dissolved. Cool until lukewarm, then whisk in the eggs and bourbon until combined. (The tart can be made 1 day ahead up to this point; cover and refrigerate the filling and wrap the cooled crust in plastic wrap.)
• Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and pour in the filling up to the brim. Arrange the remaining 1/2 cup pecan halves on top. Bake on the lower oven rack until the tart is evenly browned and slightly domed in the center, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Steps:

• To make the pastry, cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or in an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks and 35ml water and mix well until all the liquid has been incorporated. Gradually mix in the flour and cocoa powder until a paste is formed. It will be quite a soft dough.
• Wrap the pastry in foil, flatten it with your hand and chill for 1 hr. The pastry can be made two days ahead, though in this case, you may want to remove it from the fridge for a few minutes before rolling to soften it.
• Sprinkle your work surface with a light dusting of flour and roll out the pastry until it's about 5mm thick. Line a 23cm tart tin with the pastry using the rolling pin to help you lift it over, pushing the pastry well into the edges and folding the excess over the top. Trim off the excess. Chill for 15 mins to relax the pastry and to help prevent it from shrinking during cooking.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the tart with a sheet of baking parchment (scrunch it up first to soften it), then tip in baking beans, rice or lentils and bake blind for 15 mins. Lift out the beans and bake for a further 10-12 mins until the base is dry. Allow to cool.
• To make the filling, put all the ingredients in a glass or metal mixing bowl, place it over a pan of very hot water and allow them to melt together until glossy and thick. Pour into the cooled pastry case and chill for 4 hrs or overnight.
• For the topping, heat the sugar in a saucepan on a medium heat, tilt the pan rather than stirring, until you have an even golden liquid caramel. Add the salt and mix well with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Pour in the pecans and, mixing thoroughly, quickly pour the mixture on to a piece of baking parchment and spread out with the back of the spoon. Allow to cool thoroughly, then break or chop up into shards or chunky pieces to sprinkle over the ganache.
• Cut the tart with a hot, wet knife for perfect, restaurant-quality slices. Recipe adapted from Adventures with Chocolate by Paul A Young (£14.99, Kyle Books). Photographs © Anders Schønnemann.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface and use to line a 20cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Fill the tart with baking paper and baking beans, bake for 25 mins, then remove the baking paper and beans. Continue to cook for 10 mins more until golden. Remove from the oven and cool.
• Melt the chocolate and butter together in a large bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the eggs and maple syrup together, then stir into the chocolate with most of the nuts. Pour into the tart shell, top with the remaining nuts and bake for 30-40 mins until set. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or double cream.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy; blend in flour and salt. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Shape into 1-in. balls; press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased mini-muffin cups. , For filling, in a small bowl, beat the egg. Add brown sugar, butter and vanilla; mix well. Stir in pecans. Spoon into tart shells. , Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing from pans. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.