Excellence Dark Caramel Sea Salt Tartlets Recipe

Ingredients

Chocolate shortcrust pastry

100g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
25g pure icing sugar
Pinch salt
30g Lindt Excellence Dark Caramel Sea Salt, finely chopped
60g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water, ice cold

Filling

140g castor sugar
30g glucose syrup
60ml water
80g unsalted butter
60g crème fraiche
200g Lindt Excellence Dark Caramel Sea Salt (chopped)

Caramel Sauce

200g castor sugar
40ml water
150ml cream, at room temperature

	PREP TIME 20m	COOK TIME 10m	TOTAL TIME 30m
YIELD 8 servings

Instructions

1. For the shortcrust pastry, place dry ingredients and chocolate into a food processor and pulse untilcombined. Add chilled butter and process until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Mix in egg yolk andwater until just combined.
Remove dough and wrap in cling film, press flat and place in the fridge to restfor 30 minutes.
2. For the tartlet base, roll out the dough to about 3mm thickness and line buttered tartlet molds. Linethe pastry shells with baking paper, fill with rice and bake-blind at 170°C.
After approximately 8 minutes, remove the paper and rice and finish baking until cooked (5-10 minutes). Take care not to overcook. Set aside to cool completely.
3. To make the filling, combine the sugar, water and glucose in a saucepan and cook to a dark caramel*. Wash the sides of the pot down with a brush dipped in water to prevent the sugar from crystallizing, and once starting to turn brown, carefully check the true colour of the caramel with a piece of baking paper as it might appear darker in the pot than it actually is. Take off the heat and mix in the butter. Be careful as this might bubble and splatter.
Mix in the crème fraiche and finally the chocolate. Stir until all dissolved then place in a bowl and cover with cling film. Allow to sit at room temperature overnight.
4. To make the caramel sauce, place sugar and water in a medium saucepan and cook until desired caramel colour is reached. Take off heat, add a little cream and whisk vigorously. Watch out for steam and splatters. Add a little more cream and place some caramel sauce on a plate to cool and test its thickness.
5. To finish, divide the mixture between the pastry shells, decorate with caramel sauce and other decorations if desired, and serve.