Caramel Hazelnut Mini Tartlets Food

CHOCOLATE, HAZELNUT & SALTED CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, whizz the hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour, icing sugar and butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water, and pulse until the dough comes together. Tip the dough out and flatten into a disc, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to line a 23cm loose-bottomed, deep tart tin. Trim the edges and prick the base with a fork, then line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 mins, then carefully remove the baking beans and parchment and bake for a further 5-10 mins until light golden. Allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, make the salted caramel. Tip the sugar into a small pan, add 1-2 tbsp water and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat and cook until the sugar turns to an ambercoloured caramel. Reduce the heat and add the butter, cream and golden syrup, and stir until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and add the salt. Allow to cool for a few mins, then spread onto the tart base. Scatter with chopped hazelnuts and set aside.
• For the chocolate filling, melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk and caster sugar for about 6 mins until thick and pale. Fold in the melted chocolate and cocoa, then pour into the tart case. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 mins or until set and the top has formed a crust. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving in slices.

HAZELNUT CARAMEL MINI TARTS

Steps:

• Butter 30 metal mini muffin cups.
• Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and blend, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add 5 tablespoons cream and vanilla and blend, using on/off turns, just until mixture begins to clump together, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry.
• Press 2 teaspoonfuls dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of each prepared mini muffin cup. Pierce tart crusts all over with fork. Freeze crusts 30 minutes before baking.
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Bake frozen crusts until golden and baked through, about 25 minutes.
• Transfer to rack and cool crusts in muffin cups 10 minutes. Carefully loosen crusts from muffin cups. Transfer crusts to rimmed baking sheet and cool completely.
• Place 2 to 3 hazelnuts (or equivalent of chopped hazelnuts) in each crust.
• For caramel filling:
• Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, 2 tablespoons water, and salt in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
• Bring mixture to boil, then boil 2 minutes without stirring (mixture will bubble up and thicken slightly).
• Remove pan from heat.
• Add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously); stir until smooth.
• Pour caramel into 2-cup measuring cup; cool 10 minutes. Spoon caramel over hazelnuts in crusts, filling crusts almost to top. Refrigerate until caramel begins to firm up slightly, about 1 hour.
• Stir chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Drizzle melted chocolate over top of tartlets. Chill until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.

CARAMEL NUT TARTLETS

Steps:

• Make shells:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. and spray tartlet pans with cooking spray.
• In a small bowl whisk together yolk, water, and vanilla. In a food processor pulse together flour, sugar, and salt until combined well. Cut butter into 1/4-inch pieces and scatter over flour mixture. Pulse mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
• Add egg mixture with motor running and pulse just until dough forms a ball. Turn dough out onto a work surface and with heel of hand press dough together just until smooth and cohesive.
• Form dough into fifty 1-inch balls. Press balls into bottoms and up sides of tartlet pans, making 1/8-inch-thick shells (if working in batches, keep remaining dough chilled). Trim any overhang and with a fork prick bottom of each shell several times. Transfer shells in pans to shallow baking pans. Gather scraps together and make more shells in same manner.
• Bake shells in batches in lower third of oven, checking after 6 minutes for signs of blistering (if necessary, prick dough with fork to deflate any air pockets), 15 minutes total, or until surface of crust is no longer shiny and dough appears set and golden. Cool shells in pans on racks until cool enough to handle and gently remove shells from pans. All shells should be baked before proceeding. Leave oven on.
• Make filling:
• In a large shallow baking pan toast nuts (if using hazelnuts, keep separate from other types) in one layer in middle of oven until golden, about 15 minutes. (To skin hazelnuts, wrap nuts while still hot in a kitchen towel and let steam 1 minute. Rub nuts in towel to remove loose skins; do not worry about skins that do not come off.) Cool nuts completely and in a food processor pulse until coarsely chopped. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan heat sugar, water, and corn syrup over low heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Boil mixture, without stirring, until golden. Remove pan from heat and add cream (use caution; mixture will bubble up and vigorously steam), stirring carefully with a wooden spoon until combined well. (If lumps form, return pan to low heat and stir caramel until smooth.) Transfer caramel to a bowl to cool and thicken, about 10 minutes. Add nuts, stirring to coat.
• Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons filling into each shell. Tartlets keep, in one layer in airtight containers at room temperature or chilled, 3 days.

CARAMEL HAZELNUT PEAR TART

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, cream 1 cup butter and icing sugar. Beat in vanilla, flour and nuts. Press into a greased 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom.
• Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350°F
• Combine caramels and milk in a small bowl and microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring, until caramels are melted. Spread caramel mixture over crust.
• In bowl, combine nuts, sugar, flour, butter and egg. Spoon over caramel.
• Arrange pear slices over filling in a concentric circle overlapping slices.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate any leftovers.

CHOCOLATE & HAZELNUT PRALINE TART

Steps:

• Make the pastry. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add flour and almonds. Bring everything together with the egg. If the pastry is very soft, chill for 20 mins. If not, roll out to fit a deepish 23cm fluted flan tin; if the pastry breaks, press scraps of pastry into the gaps, leaving a slight overhang. Chill for 20 mins.
• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Line the case with baking parchment and baking beans, then bake for 10 mins. Remove beans and cook for another 10 mins until golden.
• Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a dry pan until starting to brown. Scatter over 4 tbsp of sugar, cook until it caramelises, then tip nuts onto a baking tray lined with parchment. Leave to cool, then roughly chop. Over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate, butter and alcohol together, then set aside to cool slightly. Over the same pan, beat the egg, yolks and remaining sugar until pale and fluffy. Take off the heat, then fold in the chocolate mix.
• When case is cooked, remove from oven and turn the heat down to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Scatter most of the hazelnuts over the base, then tip in the chocolate mix, pressing it down slightly. Cook the tart for 15-20 mins until the chocolate has almost set. Leave to cool, then serve scattered with the remaining nuts. Can be made up to 1 day ahead.