Extra-chocolate tartlets

The calculation is for 6 square molds (8 cm | 3.1 inch).

For the chocolate shortcrust pastry:

• Flour – 220 g | 7.75 oz
• Almond flour – 30 g | 1.05 oz
• Powdered sugar – 80 g | 2.80 oz
• Butter – 130 g | 4.60 oz
• Salt – 2 g | 0.05 oz
• Eggs – 50 g | 1.75 oz
• Cocoa – 15 g | 0.55 oz

Stir the egg with a fork, without whipping. Measure the required amount, and place it in the fridge. Cut the butter into thin slices, and put in the freezer for 10 minutes. Sift the flour with the powdered sugar and cocoa, and mix. Add the salt and the almond flour. Pour the ingredients into a mixer bowl. Stir them at a low speed with the paddle attachment. Add the cold butter, and stir until a homogeneous mass (coarse sand like). Add the egg, and knead until the dough starts collecting on the attachment. Knead it quickly by hand, and divide into two parts. Roll each part into a layer to a thickness of 3 mm (0.15 inch). Wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.

Roll out the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment until 2 mm (0.1 inch) thick. Cut and lay out the bottoms and sides for the tartlets. Press them down gently without cutting off the excess. Freeze the blanks for a couple of hours. Cut off the excess dough from the top. Bake the blanks in the oven, preheated to 150-155C (302 to 311F) for 20 to 22 minutes. Cool the tartlets on a wire rack.

For the brownie (you will not use all the finished brownies for the tartlets):

• Butter – 150 g | 5.30 oz
• Chocolate 66% - 55 g | 1.95 oz
• Brown sugar – 120 g | 4.25 oz
• Cocoa – 28 g | 1.00 oz
• Mascarpone – 75 g | 2.65 oz
• Eggs – 2 pieces | 2.00 items
• Vanilla paste – 1 g | 0.05 oz
• Flour – 40 g | 1.40 oz
• Salt – 1 g | 0.05 oz

Combine butter and the chocolate in a saucepan and melt, stirring occasionally, over a low heat. Remove the mix from the heat, and pour it into a bowl. Add the sugar and the sifted cocoa; mix well. Add the mascarpone, and whip on a medium speed until it combines with the chocolate mass completely. Add the eggs one at a time, and then add the vanilla and salt. At the very end, sift the flour into the dough, and mix. Spread the dough in a mold 1-1.5 cm (0.4 to 0.6 inch) high. Bake the brownie at 160C (320F) for about 40 minutes. Cool it down.

Before assembling the tartlets, measure out 150 g (5.30 oz), and crush into large crumbs. Place 25 g (0.90 oz) of the brownie crumbs on the bottom of each tartlet. Pour it with the caramel ganache, and place the finished tartlets in the fridge for 6 to 8 hours to stabilize. Cover them with the glaze.

For the chocolate caramel ganache:

• White chocolate with caramel – 165 g | 5.80 oz
• Cream 35% - 200 g | 7.05 oz
• Butter – 55 g | 1.95 oz
• Gelatin (-220-) – 3 g | 0.10 oz
• Water for the gelatin – 18 g | 0.65 oz

Soak the gelatin in cold water. Put the chocolate in a blender glass. Bring the cream to a boil, and remove it from the heat; dissolve the gelatin in the cream. Pour the resulting mass over the chocolate, and stir; punch it into the emulsion with a blender. When the ganache has cooled to 35C (95F), add the butter, and whip again until smooth. Pour the ganache into the tartlets over the brownie crumbs to the top (50 g | 1.75 oz per a tartlet). Place them in the fridge.

For the chocolate glaze:

• Chocolate 66% - 90 g | 3.15 oz
• Butter – 70 g | 2.45 oz
• Glucose syrup – 6 g | 0.20 oz
• Water – 30 g | 1.05 oz

Combine all the ingredients in a heat-resistant bowl and melt them in a water bath, stirring. You need to achieve a completely homogeneous and smooth consistency. Cool the glaze to 30C (86F), and cover the cold tartlets with it. Refrigerate the finished dessert for a couple of hours. Decorate at your discretion.