Chocolate Caramel Tartlets Recipes

Steps:

• Make the tart dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Add egg yolk and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Sift in flour and cocoa powder, and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and form it into a disk; wrap well. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Between two sheets of lightly floured parchment paper, roll the tart dough into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle, 3/16 inch thick. Using a 2 3/4-inch round cutter, cut out 24 rounds of dough, and press them into 2 1/4-inch tart pans, trimming away any excess dough. Chill the tart shells in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
• Line each tart shell with a piece of parchment paper, and fill with raw rice or dried lentils. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper and its contents, and bake until the pastry looks dry and set, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool. (The tart shells can be made up to 8 hours ahead.)
• Make the filling: Place 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Add sugar and corn syrup, and cook mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until it becomes a dark-amber caramel, about 10 minutes. Carefully whisk in butter, cream, creme fraiche, and a pinch of salt (the mixture will bubble up), whisking until smooth. (The caramel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated in a covered container.) Carefully transfer caramel to a glass measuring cup. Divide caramel among tart shells while still warm (or reheat caramel over low heat until it is pourable), and let stand until the caramel is set, at least 45 minutes.
• Make the ganache glaze: Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour some of the glaze over each of the tarts while still warm. Let the glaze set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

Steps:

• Prepare chocolate dough: In bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar and cocoa. Beat until smooth. Add egg yolk and vanilla, and beat until blended.
• Sift flour into dough mixture. Beat on low speed until combined. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan. (You can use a 9-inch pan, but the crust will be thicker and the caramel may take longer to set in step 4.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line tart with foil, and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights, and bake until pastry is dry and set, another 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Prepare caramel filling: In a large saucepan, bring sugar, water and corn syrup to a boil. Stir or swirl the pan occasionally, until mixture is a medium amber color, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Caramel will continue to cook and darken off of the heat. Carefully but quickly whisk in the butter, cream, creme fraiche and salt until smooth (mixture will bubble up). Pour hot caramel into tart, and allow to cool and set, at least 1 hour.
• Prepare chocolate glaze: Place chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate and whisk until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Pour glaze over tart, tilting tart for even coverage. Refrigerate until tart is set, at least one hour, then sprinkle with a few granules of fleur de sel. Keep refrigerated until serving.

Steps:

• To prepare the tart dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and confectioners' sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Add the cocoa and beat until incorporated. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Sift in the flour and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the tart dough 3/16-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 24 rounds of dough and press them into mini-muffin tins or 2 dozen 2-inch tart pans, trimming away any excess dough; prick the dough all over with a fork. Chill the tart shells for 20 minutes.
• Line the tart shells with foil and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the pastry looks dry and set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Remove cooled shells from tart pans and transfer to a plate.
• To prepare the filling, place the water in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and corn syrup and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until you have a dark amber caramel, about 10 minutes. Carefully whisk in the butter, cream, and creme fraiche (the mixture will hiss and bubble up so stand back), whisking until smooth. (The caramel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated). Divide the caramel among the tart shells while still warm (or reheat the caramel in the microwave or over low heat until it is pourable) and let sit until the caramel is set, at least 20 minutes.
• To make the glaze, in a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, add a pinch of sea salt, and let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Pour some of the glaze over each of the tarts while it is still warm. Let the glaze set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

Steps:

• Chocolate tart dough: In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Sift in flour and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. On lightly floured surface, roll tart dough to an 18 by 12-inch rectangle, 3/16-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 24 rounds of dough and press them into mini muffin tins or 2-inch tart pans, trimming away any excess dough. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Chill tart shells for 20 minutes.
• Line the tart shells with foil and fill with dried beans, rice, or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until pastry looks dry and set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. (The tart shells can be made 8 hours ahead.)
• Caramel filling: Place 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. Add sugar and corn syrup and cook mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally until you have a dark amber caramel, about 10 minutes. Carefully whisk in butter, cream, and creme fraiche (mixture will hiss and bubble up), whisking until smooth. (Caramel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated, then warmed over low heat or microwaved before pouring into tart shells.)
• Divide caramel while still warm among cooled tart shells and let sit until caramel is set, at least 45 minutes.
• Chocolate ganache glaze: In saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Place chopped chocolate in a bowl. Pour hot cream over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Pour some of the still-warm glaze over each tart. Let glaze set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. Sprinkle with salt, if desired, just before serving.

Steps:

• To prepare the tart dough, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and confectioners' sugar until just combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until just combined. Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a disk. Wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour, or up to 3 days.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the tart dough to an 18 by 12-inch rectangle, 3/16-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 24 rounds of dough and press them into mini-muffin tins or 2-inch tart pans, trimming away any excess dough; prick the dough all over with a fork. Chill the tart shells for 20 minutes.
• Line the tart shells with foil and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until the pastry looks dry and set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. (The tart shells can be made 8 hours ahead.)
• To prepare the filling, place 1/2 cup water in large saucepan. Add the sugar and corn syrup and cook the mixture over medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until you have a dark caramel, about 10 minutes. Carefully whisk in the butter, cream, and creme fraiche (the mixture will hiss and bubble up, so stand back), whisking until smooth. (The caramel can be made up to 5 days ahead and refrigerated.) Divide the caramel among the tart shells while still warm (or reheat the caramel in the microwave or over low heat until it is pourable) and let sit until the caramel is set, at least 45 minutes.
• To make the ganache glaze, in a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Pour some of the glaze over each of the tarts while still warm. Let the glaze set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. Sprinkle with salt, if desired, just before serving.
• Variation: For a large tart, line a 10-inch tart pan with the pastry dough, then prick, weight, and bake as directed, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time. When the tart shell is cool, spoon the warm caramel to set before pouring the warm ganache onto the tart.

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Blend flour, sugar, lemon eel and slat in processor 5 seconds. Add butter, yolk and vanilla and process until large moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; knead briefly to combine well. Flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill until firm enough to roll, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out dough between sheets of plastic wrap to 11- to 12-inch round. Peel off top sheet of plastic. Turn dough over; press into 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Peel off plastic. Fold in any excess dough, forming double-thick sides. Pierce crust all over with fork. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Bake crust 10 minutes. Using back side of fork, press crust flat if bottom bubbles. continue to bake until crust id golden, about 10 minutes (crust sides may shrink slightly.) Transfer to rack and cool.
• Make chocolate filling:
• Bring cream to boil in heavy small saucepan and whisk until smooth. Spread 1 cup chocolate filling in prepared crust. Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes. reserve remaining filling in saucepan.
• Make caramel filling:
• stir sugar and 1/3 cup water in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup is amber color, brushing down sides with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cream, butter, vanilla and salt (mixture will bubble up). Return pan to very low heat; stir until caramel is smooth and color deepens, about 5 minutes. Refrigerate uncovered until cold but not firm, about 20 minutes.
• Spoon caramel filling over chocolate filling. Pipe of drizzle reserved chocolate filling decoratively over cararmel (if chocolate is too firm to pour, warm slightly over low heat). Refrigerate tart until caramel is firm, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover keep chilled.)

Steps:

• Make tart shells: Process flour, cocoa, sugar, and fleur de sel in a food processor until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor running, add eggs; process just until dough comes together.
• Turn out dough onto a clean work surface; pat together. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut 10 rounds from dough. Transfer remaining dough to a flour-dusted baking sheet; refrigerate.
• Fit dough rounds into ten round tartlet molds (each 2 1/4 inches in diameter). Trim edges of dough flush with top edges of molds. (Refrigerate scraps.) Refrigerate shells until cold, 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick bottoms of shells all over with a fork. Bake until firm, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely in molds on a wire rack; unmold.
• Working in batches of ten and using remaining dough (reroll scraps), repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 to make 40 shells total.
• Make caramel filling: Heat sugar and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, gently, until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, occasionally washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Let boil, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup is dark amber. Remove from heat.
• Carefully stir in cream and port (caramel will steam and spatter). Add butter and chocolate; stir until melted and mixture is smooth. Let cool until slightly thickened but still pourable, about 20 minutes.
• Cover bottoms of tart shells with almonds (about 1 teaspoon per shell). Spoon caramel filling into shells, filling each almost to the top. Sprinkle with almonds and fleur de sel. Refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 hours.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Between 2 sheets of wax paper roll out dough into a 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer dough to a baking sheet and chill 10 minutes. Lift top sheet of wax paper from dough and gently replace on top (this will facilitate removal of paper later). Flip dough over, discarding wax paper now on top, and carefully invert dough into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Lightly press dough up side of rim, using pieces from overhang to patch any holes. Chill shell 30 minutes, or until firm.
• Line shell with foil, folding over edge to cover pastry entirely, and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell on a baking sheet in middle of oven 35 minutes and carefully remove foil and weights or rice. If bottom of crust still has patches of translucent undercooked dough, return shell to oven without foil and weights or rice and bake until pastry is completely cooked and golden, 3 to 5 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack.
• Reduce temperature to 350°F.
• Coarsely chop nuts. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and honey, stirring, and simmer 1 minute. Stir in nuts and cream. Simmer mixture 1 minute and pour into shell. Bake tart on baking sheet in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until filling is a few shades darker. Cool tart in pan on rack.
• Chop chocolate and in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool chocolate slightly and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a #3 plain tip (slightly smaller than 1/8 inch). (Alternatively, transfer chocolate to a small heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Squeeze chocolate into one corner of bag and with scissors cut a tiny slice off corner to form a small hole.) Pipe thin lines of chocolate over tart in a back and forth motion to form stripes. Tart may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• Serve caramel tart chilled or at room temperature with ice cream and tuiles.