tarts

Fig Almond Tartelettes

22.08.2007 30 Comments

A few many things prompted me to make this lovely "tartelette" seen in the picutures as well as a few others in the past couple of days. Last week I was given a good 10 pound basket filled to the rim with lovely figs from one of my clients' extremely prolific fig tree. "Yippee!" I scream as I love fresh figs. We started eating them fresh, the grilled with melting goat cheese, cut up in salad or with pork tenderloin. Then came the fig chutneys, fig jams, fig cakes and finaly these "Fig Almond Frangipane Tartelettes". It turns out that Sophie likes them too and B. will eat anything covered with sugar!

I was also trying to find a suitable local crop to make a dessert for Sugar High Friday hosted this month by Johanna of the Passionate Cook . It turns out that the earliest colonists from England and Barbadoes landing in South Carolina found a bounty of foods in their new land, including peaches, figs, muscadines, pumpkins, squash, game, fish, nuts, and corn. Fig trees are almost as widespread as pecan trees here (my pecans seems about ready to implode) and the tiny fruits they produce packs a punch of flavor and juice. When I think about it, I don’t recall ever buying a single fig that was not from Charleston since I moved here. The common figs we get may not be the most sought after variety but they work just great for everyday life.

I make this kind of tartlets (and sometimes bigger pie) often throughout the year using different seasonal fruits. I love it with pears,apples, peaches, and plums, but quite frankly I think any fruit tastes wonderful when paired with a fragrant almond frangipane cream.

Fig Almond Tartelettes, adapted from Bon Appetit, October 1998

Makes 3 4- inch tartelettes (enough for 6 or 3 big appetites)

For crust
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons ice water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For filling
1/3 cup whole almonds (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup sugar1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 teaspoons rum or brandy
12 ounces ripe figs, cut into halves
1/4 cup apricot marmelade

Make crust:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine first 3 ingredients in processor. Using on/off turns, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 2 tablespoons ice water and vanilla in small bowl. Pour water mixture over dough. Process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out on floured surface to 12-inch round. Cut 3 rounds about 5 inches big, fit into pie plate and trim excess dough. (or use shapes and molds you like) Using fork, pierce dough all over. Bake crust until pale golden, about 30 minutes (crust may shrink slightly). Cool on rack. Maintain oven temperature.

Make filling:
Finely grind almonds with sugar in processor. Add egg, butter and 2 teaspoons rum. Process until batter forms. Pour filling into crust. Arrange fig halves atop filling. Bake until figs are tender and filling is golden and set, about 25 minutes.
Melt jelly with remaining 2 teaspoons rum in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Brush jelly mixture over figs. Cool tartelettes. Serve at room temperature.

Pour mes lecteurs francais: j’ai demande a mes parents de me rapporter de la feve tonka, mais je ne sais ou leur dire de s’en procurer. Ils sont du cote de Versailles-Rambouillet-Paris. Quelques suggestions seraient les bienvenues. Merci.

Peaches 'N Cream Rose Tartlets

13.07.2007 53 Comments

Late last night Old Chef called me and "wondered" if I could make 50 apricot tartlets "on the fly" (last minute/quickly) for a function thursday night. I put the verb wonder in between quotes because this man never just "wonders". When you pick up the phone, he is on the other end trying to make sense of his crazy ideas before you even can say "hello".

Nothing crazy or out of the ordinary with his request this time, and as usual he was leaving me with most of the execution choice, flavor, plating, etc… However….I had told him how I showed Lisa the rose fruit trick last weekend and he mentionned I could make them pretty like that for the function. Oy! Ok…I am extremely patient (Lis?) and the thought of 50 pretty apricot roses did not phase me much. What bothered me was finding decent apricot that I could poach and slice to make them. I had to supplement my batch with jarred ones, got home and got cranking.

In the middle of my stirring the pastry cream (my question at the time was "which alcohol should I flavor it with this time"…see! I wish I had more days like that), Old Chef calls. Change of plans. We are now at 100 tartlets and no more apricot but they want peaches. Oy again! Talk about trying to be cost effective….back to the store, back to see Charlie and his homemade jarred fruits and now the fun an resume. I was still pondering that alcohol issue, in case you were wondering…and in the end I opted for spiced rum because nothing else floated my boat and I was trying to be a little cost effective with what I had.

The tartlets are easy to put togehter and if you do not have the patience to play around witth making the roses, just place them on the pastry cream, in a spiral pattern.
I downscaled the recipe for home use as I doubt that no matter how pretty or good they turn out that you want to be stuck with 100!!

Peaches 'N Cream Tartlets:

Makes 8

Tart Dough: (pate brisee)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup chilled (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces
2 Tbs ice water
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Place flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, and process for a few seconds. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the ice water then the egg yolk, processing just until the dough holds together. Do not process for more than 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Place on a sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten, and form into a disc. Wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour before using.
Roll the dough out thin and with a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut as may rounds as needed. Lay them on a parchement lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1 TB. sugar and bake at 350F until golden brown and cooked through.

Pastry Cream:

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (throw the seeds in the pot with the milk)
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulate sugar
1/4 cup (40 gr)cornstarch
3/4 tablespoon (10 ml) spiced rum (or other liquor of choice), optional

In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together, add the cornstarch mixing until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.
Meanwhile in a saucepan combine the milk and vanilla bean on medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling, (pour through a strainer if this happens) Remove vanilla bean. Place the egg mixture back into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, whisking constantly. When it boils, whisk mixture constantly for another 30 – 60 seconds until it becomes very thick and it is hard to stir.
Remove from heat and immediately whisk in the liqueur (if using). Pour into a clean bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool. If not using right away refrigerate until needed, up to 3 days. Beat before using to get rid of any lumps that may have formed

For the Peach Roses:

Use ripe fruits, canned fruits or poached fruits.
To make the roses, cut thin slices of fruit. For the bud, choose a small piece and roll it between your fingers. Let rest on flat surface and start adding slightly bigger fruit slices around it, overlapping a little. Before you know it, you will have a pretty fruit flower, and remember that practice makes perfect.

Craving Grandma’s Apricot Tart

25.06.2007 32 Comments

I have been craving my grandmother’s tart ever since I saw the first apricots at the store a few weeks ago. Well, actually I crave it all year long and while it is quite good with quality canned apricots, there is of course nothing like fresh, velvety and fragrant ones. We don’t really need a reason to indulge in our cravings. By definition, giving into them is giving into reckless abandon of our senses and indulging in what brings us comfort and joy, as temporary as it is.

When Jennifer announced this month Sugar High Friday, my brain started racing towards many a childhood favorites (and made me wonder if I did not live in a state of perpetual craving), before the only obvious dessert was Mamie Paulette’s apricot tart. It would also give me the opportunity to spend some time with my memories of watching her make the dough and filling countless times with the same love and care.

Then a few days ago, Ivonne wrote about her Nonna Pia and shared fond memories of her life and approach to cooking. I think that Paulette and Pia would have been great friends if given the chance. They both had six children and both knew how to turn the simplest ingredients into scrumptious dishes. I left Ivonne a comment mentionning Paulette’s apricot tart and she emailed me suggesting that I post about it and share my memories. She also threatened to bug me until I did…! Well, here it is my friend!

I have talked about my grandmother many times before, always mentionning her apple or apricot tarts and always making something else. Her tarts were so simple, yet so absolutely delicious that she knew to keep us happy by always having one ready. My grandparents' house has always been the place of gathering throughout the week and especially on sundays. Four out of six children ended up living within close proximity and thus started the sunday tradition of "coffee and tart" around three in the afternoon meaning if you cannot come for lunch, try to make it for dessert. Even as a teenager and young adult, I would always try to make it for tart…especially if a paper or thesis was calling my name!

There was something so soothing and comforting in seating down with her and my grandfather to sip coffee, talk about the family, the neighbors, their garden, and eat pie.

There is even a funny anedocte associated with her apricot tart. At some point her eyesight got worse and worse, and she often made two pies, freezing one in case she would be too tired one weekend to make a fresh one. We were all gathered at the dinner table one sunday evening and when dessert time came, she asked me to go fetch the tart warming up in the oven (you know, so that the ice cream on top melts faster!). I came back trying to hold the tears of laughers streaming down my face…she had mistakingly put a quiche in the oven and not the tart…. ! Everytime I make quiche or tart, I think about that day and immediately look up at the sky and whisper "Love you Grandma".

Apricot Tart

Serves 6-8 (I made individual one for pictures)

Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs sugar
1/2 cup chilled (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces
2 Tbs ice water
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350F and blind bake the tart shells: roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, lay into tart shell, cover with parchement paper or foil, pour dry beans or pie weights on top and bake fro 15 minutes. Let cool before proceeding with the apricots.

Filling:

8 to 10 apricots, halved, pitts removed

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup creme fraiche (sour cream can be substituted)

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup ground almonds

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

slivered almonds

Whisk the sugar and the eggs until pale. Slowly add the milk and creme fraiche and whick until combined. Add the extracts and ground almonds and whisk one more time. Slice the apricots, lay them in the bottom of the tart. Slowly pour the batter on top. Sprinkle some slivered almonds on top and bake until the custard is set and the tart is golden brown.

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream and White Chocolate Cardamom Tartlets

22.06.2007 31 Comments

I wish I could remember when I first heard about the Vietnamese coffee filters you see in the pictures. Was it in a magazine, on a food show on tv…dunno… All I know is that I thought they would be a great piece of conversation when time came to serve coffee to my guests. I love having friends over and to me plating foods in fun or interesting dishes is as much important as making or eating it. These work like mini French coffee presses, you just set them up on top of your cup or mug, pour some coffee into them, screw the lid and let the water drip. I have had them for about five years now and I use them constantly not only because they are fun, but they give the best coffee too.

In France, Asian food is very different than here and I remember going to more Vietnamese restaurants than Chinese or Thai, and as a kid I would automatically go for ice cream or fruits and not coffee to ed my meal. My parents would always end up their meal with a little cup of sake, the ladies' cups would have a little flower in the bottom and the men’s the picture of a naked lady…don’t ask me why, but we (the brother and I) thought that was truly hilarious especially around 7-8 years old. Anyway….no Vietnamese coffee in all my childhood years of eating Vietnamese foods…It was not until I got here to the US that "Roomie" introduced me to Vietnamese coffee and I have been hooked ever since! If you are a coffee drinker what not try this sweet but light combination of sweetened condensed milk topped with Vietnamese coffee or if you can’t find it, a French roast or a coffee with chicory.

A couple of weeks ago, Old Chef and I were playing our favorite game: come up with new menu items for upcoming catering functions. B. thinks it is hilarious to watch us elaborate because we seem to have a language of our own, a mix of French and English, words flying across dishes and piles of notes, sketches of towering concoctions of sugar, butter, cream, fruits, nuts,… We love doing that over a good cup of coffee at the end of an event or after a long day on the phone placing orders and visiting purveyors. I knew he would like Vietnamese coffee as much as the filters necessary to make it and after a cup or two, we had come up with a couple of different desserts featuring it. These tartlets and ice cream are one of them….yes, you’ll have to stay tuned for next week’s second installment because today’s dessert is not the one we decided we would keep in the end.
This one was not bad but the white chocolate ganache was overly sweet. Since we try to be cost effective, and we foresee people leaving half the tart on their plate even if we make them smaller, we decided to make another version. Don’t get me wrong, the flavors are great: coffee, cardamom, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and work well together but the white chocolate is the overkill with a condensed milk sweetened Vietnamese coffee, no matter how powerful.

In the meantime, here is part one of our experiments:

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream:

6 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can sweetenedcondensed milk
1/4 cup freshly ground French roast coffee

Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk to scalding with the groud coffee. Pour 1/3 hot milk over yolks, whisking constantly until well combined. Pour in remaining hot milk, then pour mixture back into saucepan and return to low heat. Stir constantly until mixture has thickened enough to coat back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and stir in the condensed milk. Strain in a fine mesh colander to filter out as much of the coffee grounds as possible. Let cool to room temperature, cover ad refrigerate until completely cold. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s directions.

For the Dark Chocolate Tartlets Dough:

1/4 cup toasted and skinned hazelnuts
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
11/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs

Place hazelnuts and 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar in food processor. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter, cocoa powder, ground nuts and salt on medium speed until well-combined. Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and flour and mix well. Slowly add eggs and mix until incorporated. Shape dough into a ball and flatten into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to use, roll in between sheets of plastic wraps and cut out rounds to fit 4 4-inch tartlet molds. Prick with a fork and bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

For the Cardamom White Chocolate Ganache:

2 pods cardamom, crushed
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz white chocolate

Set the white chocolate in a bowl. Heat the cream with the cardamom until very hot. Pour the cream over the white chocolate. Let sitfor a couple of minutes and stir until completely smooth. Pour into the cooled dark chocolate tartlet shells.and refrigerate until set.

To plate: make yourself a nice cup of coffee and serve the tartlets with a generous scoop if ice cream.

Note: I was going to post this tuesday night but decided to do a little roud of my favorite blogs and went right away to visit my girl Anita at Dessert First and stumbled upon her latest delectable creation: Chocolate and Vietnamese Coffee Tart ! I am not surprised anymore when Anita, Bea and I share a dessert with you guys and they are eerily similar in concept or taste (and believe me it has happened more than once!)….all 3 of us are Taurus!

Hazelnut Quince Tartlets, Tea Time Style

20.06.2007 34 Comments

Quinces are one of the fruits I miss the most since I moved to South Carolina. My mom used to make the best quince jelly and I remember freely spreading it on fresh bread, spooning it into my yogurt in the morning. Little did I know back then that I would have such a difficult time finding it here and that the mere thought of it would send me into severe nostalgia!

Marce’s post a couple of weeks ago made me come up with these little tartlets. I could taste the quince in her tart right through the monitor screen. I left a comment saying that I had found quinces, but at $1.99 a quince (yes, you read right) I was really hesitating investing just to satisfy a nostalgic craving! Well, I broke down and bought one…yep, just one…It was small, but smooth and fragrant and my little orphan quince was nice enough to allow me to make 4 little tartlets, perfect for an afternoon tea.

I first thought about making quince tartlets after seeing a picture in this wonderful and magic book, La Cuisine des Fees. Each recipe is inspired by a dish featured in a well known fairy tale and here the character of the "King of tartelettes " in "L Oiseau de Verite" by E. Le Noble inspired beautiful round glistening quince tarts.
Well, the recipe required 4 plump fruits and my single quince needed to be stretched further than that! I made a hazelnut shortbread dough for the tartlets base and carefully sliced and roasted thin slices of the quince with some spices and in no time at all, I had the best four-bite snack, satisfying my craving and sending me back to the time I used to put a stool by the stove and help my mom stir the quince jam she was making.

Quince Tartlets, inspired by La Cuisine des Fees:

Serves 4

For the dough:

170 gr. flour (6 oz)
60 gr. powdered sugar (2 oz)
100 gr butter, at room temperature (3 1/2 oz)
1 egg white
40 gr skinned hazelnuts (3 1/2 oz)
pinch of salt

In a food processor, place the hazelnuts and powdered sugar and pulse until finely ground. add the flour, egg white, salt and butter and pulse until the dough just comes together. Gather into a ball, flatten it between two sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. This can be prepared the day before.
When ready to use, roll the dough out in between the sheets of plastic wrap as it becomes soft and sticky very fast. Cut out 4 inch rounds with a cookie cutter.
Bake at 350 F until light golden. Let cool while you prepare the quince.
Bake cookies with the remaining dough or save and freeze for another project.

For the roasted quince:

1 quince, cored, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 Tb butter
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 Tb brown sugar

Layer the slices in a baking dish, sprinkle with the spices and sugar. Add the butter into small pats all over. Roast at 350 F, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

To assemble: divide the quince slices evenly among the tartlet bases and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would be great with it too!

You can be sure that the day quinces go on sale, this little Tartelette is stocking up!

Lemon Blueberry Tartlets…Such A Steal…

13.06.2007 32 Comments

Why were these cute little tartlets a steal? As soon as Meeta posted the round up for her Monthly Mingle Birthday Bang, I started going through each post, each time more tempted than the next, (such beautiful creations), until I stumbled upon Asha's Strawberry Yogurt Pie.
I don’t particularly like baked or cooked strawberries, unless in jams or preserves, and I had an abundance of blueberries and plenty of yogurt, so the decision to include them into our sunday brunch spread was easy.
Old Chef liked them so much that he wants "plenty" , which in his world means anywhere from 100-200, for an event next week….arghhhh!

The pie is easy to put together, has great flavor and very versatile as far as ingredients used. I made mini tartlets instead of mini ones since we already had plenty to share and the cute factor certainly helped make the table a little bit more inviting but feel free to make one large pie. Either way you will not be disappointed!

Lemon Blueberry Tartlets, adapted from Asha:

For the crust:
6 Tb butter at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
grated zest of one lemon

In a food processor, combine the butter and sugar. Add the egg and blend well. Combine the flour, lemon zest and baking powder and mix them into the wet ingredients to form a soft dough.With flour-dusted fingers, pat the sticky dough into the bottom of a pie pan or individual tartlet molds. Push the dough up to cover the sides of the pan.
Refrigerate until you make the filling.

For the filling:
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen.

Mix all the filling ingredients except the blueberries until smooth.
Put the berries into the pie shell or mini ones and gently pour the fillings so the berries are coated and evenly distributed.
Bake for 50 or 60 minutes, at 350 until the crust is lightly golden and the custard has set.
For the mini ones, 30 minutes were plenty.

Bananas Foster Tartelettes

10.05.2007 29 Comments

Well, the same says it all. This was an impromptu dessert made last night. The boys were working on the boat and I decided to have T. stay over for dinner. There was plenty for 3 but I did not have any dessert fixed up….ok I am lying, there was ice cream but only for one and if we did not want to fight over it I’d better come up with something fast. I had half of the inside-out puff pastry chilling in the fridge and some banana that were getting a little too yellow for B. so there you have it:

Bananas Foster Tartelettes:

(serves 4)

Inside Out Puff Patry (or store bought)
2 bananas
2 Tb. butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum

Roll enough puff pastry to cut out 4 3-inch rounds with a cookie cutter. Lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchement paper, cover with another sheet of parchement paper and set another baking sheet on top. They will puff up but won’t get wild on you. (I did not press them flat after baking like I did with the Mille-Feuille)
Bake at 375 (F) until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the bananas:
Cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices.
In a sautee pan, over medium heat, melt the butter, add the brown sugar and the rum and sloow the sugar to melt and the mixture to thicken up a little. Put the slices in a single layer in the sauce and cook 2 minutes. Flip and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Once cooled, place them in a decorative pattern on top of the tart shells, and serve.

Oh man that was good…so good I am glad I made extras….!
See…I can do uncomplicated sometimes!!!

Sugar High Friday 27: Chocolate By Brand

21.01.2007 12 Comments

…or in my case "A Tale of Two Michels":

When I read about the chosen theme for this month SHF on David Lebovitz’s blog I let out a little sigh…chocolate? again? Unbelievable as it seems, even I, the chocolate lover, was starting to gravitate towards more fruit based desserts after my chocolate filled holidays. But I kept on reading because after all, once you fall for chocolate you just keep on reading and eating and baking,…. The idea for this month was to pick a brand, any brand of chocolate and cook/bake with it.

I have to admit that although I do not consider myself a chocolate snob, I tend to buy higher end chocolate bars and blocks rather than store bought for some of my baking. The results are incomparable, and so are the textures and flavors. I have bought evey brands out there I could find in hope that even a cheap bar could taste as good but most of the time I have been disappointed. If I am going to include chocolate in a cake I choose Callebaut or Schockinag. They melt well, the chocolate retains its flavor through high temperature baking and I still have connections to get some big slabs at a moderate price. I use Valhrona if I make ganaches, creams and custards because the flavor really comes through and your palate can really tastes the chocolate.

Everybody has a different opinion about what kind and what brand of chocolate tastes better to them. I believe that one has to try as many different kinds of choclate brands and cocoa percentages to know what appeals to them. There is no shame in proclaiming loud and clear your love for a particular kind, whether it be dark, milk or white (not really chocolate I know but good anyhow). I confess that I am a milk chocolate fanatic, and dark chocolate higher than 65% does not appeal to me. For some reason it coats the back of my throat and leaves a very acidic tastes on my tongue. I am always in search a good quality milk chocolate, not one over saturated with cream, but one that is one molecule removed from a very smooth dark chocolate.

While at the Grande Epicerie at Le Bon Marche, I was lucky enough to find 2 really interesting (to me) chocolate bars. In my pursuit to like darker chocolate I bought a bar from Michel Chaudun via Weiss chocolatier, 70% dark chocolate with cocoa nibs. The second one was a milk chocolate bar from Michel Cluizel, "1er Cru de Plantation ‘Mangaro’ Milk Chocolate ".

I had a nibble of each the other day, and then I stacked one square of each and popped them in my mouth…and then I repeated this last bit by stacking them on top of a shortbread cookie…and then I wished I had a dozen or so of them…! But they were not easy to eat like that, if only I could melt them and serve them in a little shortbread crust… The solution was very easy: a chocolate ganache tart, and because I would melt the milk chocolate with an equal amount of dark chocolate the cream would not overpower the object of my desire.

Thank you to the two Michel for allowing me to create what is to me the best chocolate ganache tart I have had so far.

If you want to make this, use what your tastebuds qualify to be the best chocolate. Tastes is as subjective as love so use what you enjoy best.

Chocolate Ganache Tart, adapted from my head and Doris Greenspan (crust).

For 3 (4 inch) tarts

Crust:
1/2 stick butter
3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup powder sugar
1Tb cocoa powder

In a food processor, pulse all the crust ingredients. Empty in a bowl and knead until the dough comes together. The butter will warm up when in contact with your hands and will allow you to form the dough unto small disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate while you prepare the ganache.

Ganache filling:
5 oz dark chocolate
5 oz milk chocolate
1/2 cup + 2 Tb. heavy cream

Heat the cream over medium heat. When hot, remove from the stove and throw in the chocolates, let stand for a minute. Gently stir to incorporate all the chocolate. Let stand at room temperature while you prepare the tartlett crusts.

For the tart shells:
I used 4 inch round tartlet molds but you can use smaller ones if desired, I got 3 filled tart with the quantity of chocolate I had melted. That point is really make and bake as you go.
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out between two sheets of plastic wrap. Fit the dough into the tartket molds, prick with a fork and refrigerate while you heat up the oven to 350 degrees. Pre bake until done. Let the shells cool completely.
Remove from the molds and fill with the ganache. Refrigerate until the ganache is completely set.

For the decor, I melted 1/2 cup of sugar woth 2 Tb of water until golden brown and spoon shapes and lines onto parchment paper. I let the caramel cooled completely,cut out stands and branches and stuck them in the tart.
Et Voila!

Ok, this was a rare splurge, combining 2 great names into one little tart, but hey it felt really good and the world around me almost stopped for a few minutes!