Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tartlet Filling Food

CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL PECAN TART

Steps:

• Crust: Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until combined. Beat butter with confectioners' sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined and crumbly (do not overmix). Pat dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 1 month.
• On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. With a paring knife, trim dough flush with rim; refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.
• Blind-bake crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prick bottom of tart all over with a fork. Bake until set and dough is dry, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Filling: Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring gently, until sugar is 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. Cook until syrup is amber in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully add heavy cream (caramel will steam and spatter). Add butter, vanilla, salt, and chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Add pecans; stir until combined. Transfer mixture to tart crust. Let stand until set and cool, about 2 hours. Tart can be served room-temperature or refrigerated, uncovered, up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes and sprinkle with flaky salt before serving.

CHOCOLATE PECAN TART

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.

SALTED CARAMEL-PECAN TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Make the crust: Lightly coat a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and roast until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes; let cool. Transfer 1/2 cup of the pecans to a food processor; add the flour, sugar and kosher salt and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until it is in pea-size bits. Pulse in the egg yolk and vanilla until large clumps form.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press it into the bottom and up the sides. Prick the bottom all over with a fork, then freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until set, about 25 minutes, then remove the foil and weights and continue baking until golden, 10 to 15 more minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
• Make the caramel for the filling: Combine the sugar, 1/4 cup water and the kosher salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Cook, swirling the pan but not stirring, until amber, 8 to 10 minutes. Brush any sugar crystals off the side of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the heavy cream, butter and vanilla (the mixture will bubble). Return to medium heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until thick enough to coat a spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.
• Gently whisk the eggs and flour in a large bowl, then whisk in the caramel. Place the crust on a baking sheet, arrange the remaining 1 1/4 cups pecans in the bottom and add the filling. Bake until set around the edge, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
• Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until smooth. Drizzle over the tart and sprinkle with sea salt. Let the chocolate set before slicing.

CARAMEL TART FILLING

Steps:

• Put brown sugar, plain flour, butter, vanilla essence and egg yolks into a medium saucepan and mix well together.
• Slowly add milk beating well (don't worry if mixture appears to curdle - it usually does).
• Put over a medium heat and stir continuously until it thickens and has a rich glossy brown colour, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Let cool and pour into ready made cooked pie pastry shell.
• OPTIONAL EXTRA (MERINGUE TOPPING).
• Beat 2 egg whites till soft peaks form, slowly add in 4 tablespoon sugar until glossy and have stiff peaks.
• Spoon meringue onto caramel, making sure it covers the pastry.
• Put into a hot oven (200 degree C) and bake till golden - should only take a few minutes.
• Cut and serve with thick cream.

CARAMEL NUT TART

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.

CHOCOLATE PECAN AND CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Blend crackers and 2 tablespoons sugar in processor until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter; process until moist clumps form. Press mixture firmly over bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Bake crust until golden and firm, about 7 minutes. Cool completely on rack.
• Stir bittersweet chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate into tart crust. Using small metal spatula, spread over bottom of crust. Arrange 1 1/2 cups pecans in single layer over chocolate.
• Mix 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high; boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 3/4 cup cream and 2 tablespoons butter (mixture will bubble vigorously). Set over low heat; stir until caramel is smooth, about 1 minute. Pour over pecans atop chocolate in crust. Chill until set, about 45 minutes. Stir milk chocolate and 1/4 cup cream in heavy saucepan over low heat until smooth. Pour over caramel; spread evenly. Arrange 1/2 cup pecans around edge of tart. Chill at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL-PECAN TARTLET FILLING

Steps:

• Combine the water and sugar over medium heat until sugar colors to a deep amber.
• Take the sugar off the heat and add cream a little bit at a time. Watch out, the cream may splatter.
• Return the mixture to the heat, add butter, and return to a boil.
• Take the mixture off the heat again and add the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, so the chocolate can melt. Beat it smooth and whisk in the Rum (if you are using it).
• Let the filling set at room temperature and then fold in the pecans.