PORT CARAMEL CHOCOLATE TARTLETS

Port Caramel Chocolate Tartlets image

Chocolate and caramel are enhanced with port wine, Spanish Marcona almonds, and fleur de sel, a delicate sea salt, for ultra-rich miniature tarts that are wonderfully unctuous, like fine truffles. The large yield of this recipe makes it perfect for parties; just don't expect to have any left over. These tartlets have a tendency to disappear rather quickly.

Yield Makes 40

Number Of Ingredients 14

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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel, or other sea salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons ruby or tawny port
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 ounce dark chocolate (preferably 70 percent cacao), finely chopped
1 cup salted Marcona almonds (or blanched, roasted, salted almonds), finely chopped
Fleur de sel, or other sea salt, for sprinkling

Steps:

Make the crust: Pulse flour, cocoa, sugar, and fleur de sel in a food processor until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add eggs, and process just until dough comes together. Pat dough into a disk. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut 10 rounds from dough. Transfer remaining dough to a dusted baking sheet; refrigerate. Fit dough rounds into 10 round tartlet molds (each 2 1/4 inches in diameter). Trim excess dough flush with rims. (Refrigerate scraps.) Refrigerate or freeze shells until firm, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pierce bottoms of shells all over with a fork. Bake until firm, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely in molds on a wire rack; unmold.
Working in batches of 10 and using remaining dough (reroll scraps), repeat steps 2 and 3 to make 40 shells total.
Make the filling: Combine sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, gently stirring occasionally, until sugar has 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. Let boil, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup is dark amber. Remove from heat.
Carefully stir in cream and port (caramel will steam and spatter). Add butter and chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Let cool until slightly thickened but still pourable, about 20 minutes.
Cover bottoms of tart shells with chopped almonds (about 1 teaspoon per shell). Spoon filling into shells, almost to top. Sprinkle with almonds and fleur de sel. Refrigerate until ready to serve, 3 hours or up to 1 day.