Caprese Tartlets Recipes

THE NEELY'S CAPRESE TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Roll out the puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle less than 1/4-inch thick. Place on top of a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper. Brush dough with egg wash. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Cover baked dough with pesto. Add sliced tomatoes and mozzarella on top. Bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

TORTA CAPRESE

Steps:

• Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler and melt until smooth. Cool slightly, until just warm to the touch.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the inside of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Place the egg whites in a medium bowl with the salt. Place the yolks in a slightly larger bowl with the granulated sugar. Using a handheld mixer, beat the whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Then beat the egg yolks on medium speed until light, pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir the chocolate mixture, almond flour and vanilla into the yolks. In 2 batches, fold the whipped whites into the chocolate base. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until puffed and beginning to crack on top, about 40 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
• When cool, run a thin knife around the edge of the pan to release the cake. Remove the outside ring and dust the top with confectioners' sugar.

CAPRESE TARTLETS ( RECIPE COURTESY MELISSA D'ARABIAN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the crusts from the bread and using a large spoon or rolling pin, gently press the slices of bread down flat until they are thin and almost doughy. Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Press the slices in the muffin tin, to form tartlet shells. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, using a fork to combine, mix together the cream cheese, garlic powder, dried basil, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy. Drop about a teaspoon of the cream cheese into the bottom of each muffin tin. Bake the tartlets until golden and crusty, 12 to 13 minutes.
• Meanwhile, liberally salt the tomato slices. Once the tartlet shells are golden, remove them from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Place a slice of mozzarella on top of the cream cheese, then layer on a tomato slice or two. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, if using. Garnish with basil chiffonade.

CAPRESE TART

Steps:

• Special equipment: 12 individual tartlet pans with removable bottoms
• Preheat oven on to 375 degrees F.
• To assemble tartlets: Take the tart pans and brush with butter and liberally sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 12 individual tarts. Dough circles should be larger than the pan to fit properly.
• Lay the dough rounds in the pans and press down to fill in the corners. Trim excess dough.
• Brush bottoms of dough shell with olive oil and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 6 minutes until bottom is cooked but blonde.
• Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt. Layer the tomato slices and mozzarella slices into the pan, overlapping the pieces in a circle, until all the ingredients are used. Season with salt and pepper. Bake tarts for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Right before serving, garnish top with torn basil. Serve warm or at room temperature.