Chocolate And Pecan Tartlets Recipes

CHOCOLATE-PECAN TART

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.

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.

CHOCOLATE AND PECAN TARTLETS

Steps:

• Mix softened butter and cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Blend in flour, a bit at a time, confectioners' sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Form dough into a disk. Cover in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 3 hours. Heat oven to 325°F. Divide dough into 24 balls; press into two 12-cup mini muffin tins, pushing dough up over edges. Refrigerate. Mix brown sugar, chocolate, egg, melted butter, vanilla and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl until combined. Divide half the pecans among muffin cups; top with brown sugar mixture; sprinkle remaining pecans on top. Bake 20 minutes or until dough is lightly golden around edges. Let sit 5 minutes. Run tip of knife around cup edges to loosen. Remove when cool enough to handle; transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

MILK CHOCOLATE-PECAN TARTLETS

Steps:

• Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until nuts are finely chopped. Using on/off turns, add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix yolk and 1 1/2 teaspoons cream in bowl. Add to flour mixture; process until moist clumps form. If dough is dry, add more cream by teaspoonfuls to moisten. Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic; chill 4 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray eighteen 3-inch tartlet pans with oil spray. Press 1 tablespoon dough onto bottom and up sides of each pan. Arrange tartlet pans on heavy large baking sheet. Bake until crusts are golden, piercing with fork if bubbles form, about 10 minutes. Transfer pans to rack; cool completely.
• Melt 9 ounces chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water, stirring often. Remove from heat. Bring cream just to simmer in small saucepan. Pour hot cream into chocolate; stir until very smooth. Stir in chopped pecans. Transfer filling to small bowl. Cover; chill until filling is consistency of thick pudding, about 2 hours.
• Using small knife, loosen crusts from pans. Turn crusts out. Spread 1 teaspoon preserves in each crust. Spoon 1 tablespoon filling over. Garnish with nut halves and grated chocolate. Chill until filling is firm, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.) Serve cold.