Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tartlets
Rich, candy bar-like tartlets featuring a chocolate caramel filling and toasted pecans, ideal for after-dinner enjoyment.
Ingredients
tartlet crusts (baked, made from Chocolate Nut Dough with pecans, unmolded, set on a jelly-roll pan)
24
pecan halves (toasted, for finishing)
24
sugar
. cup
water
1 teaspoon
heavy whipping cream
- cup
milk
- cup
salt
B/i teaspoon
bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened, melted and cooled)
8 ounces (225 grams)
unsalted butter (softened)
2 tablespoons
toasted pecan pieces (coarsely chopped)
B/d cup (about 1 ounce/25 grams)
Instructions
1
Step 1
Make the filling: In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water (to accommodate the caramel boiling when liquid is added later), stirring until the sugar looks like wet sand. Place the pan over medium heat until the sugar begins to melt.
2
Step 2
While the sugar begins to cook, bring the cream to a bare simmer in a small saucepan. Once the cream is hot, remove from the heat and set it beside the stove, covered, to keep warm.
3
Step 3
When the sugar begins to melt and caramelize, stir occasionally with a metal spoon. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking the caramel until it turns a very pale golden color. Remove the pan from the heat and let the caramel continue cooking for 1 minute from the residual heat of the pan—this prevents the caramel from becoming too dark and bitter.
4
Step 4
Check the color by lifting a spoonful of caramel and letting it pour back into the pan. Watching the stream of caramel flow from the spoon gives a more accurate read on the color—the caramel always looks darker in the pan. It should be a deep amber.
5
Step 5
If the caramel is too pale, return it to the heat for 30 seconds, remove, let it sit for 1 minute, and then check the color again.
6
Step 6
When the caramel reaches a deep amber, return it to the heat and carefully, gradually add the hot cream in parts. Keep your arm extended and your face turned away to avoid splatters. Bring the diluted caramel to a boil, remove from the heat, and immediately pour it into a heatproof medium bowl.
7
Step 7
Add the milk and salt, and let the caramel cool to about 100°F (40°C)—the bottom of the bowl should feel warm, but you can comfortably cradle it in your palm.
8
Step 8
Scrape the cooled chocolate into the caramel and whisk to combine. Whisk in the butter. Taste the ganache and add a small pinch of salt if needed—salt enhances the caramel flavor.
9
Step 9
Fold the toasted pecan pieces into the ganache and spoon the mixture into each tartlet shell. Smooth the surface with a small offset metal spatula. Top each tartlet with a pecan half.
