absolutely awesome chocolate & pecan tartlets
(1 rating)
Okay, it’s Sunday, and I have the test kitchen all to myself. I came up with a interesting tartlet that has the makings of a pecan pie, but with a chocolate layer, and baked in a French Pâte Sucrée crust. I use maple (real maple) syrup in place of the normal corn syrup, and the chocolate is bittersweet to counter all the other sweets of this dish. It is designed for 4-inch (10cm) tartlets and will make 12, but will do well in a standard 9-inch tart pan. So, you ready… let’s get into the kitchen.
(1 rating)
yield
12 serving(s)
prep time
30 Min
cook time
35 Min
method
Bake
Ingredients For absolutely awesome chocolate & pecan tartlets
- THE FILLING
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3 mdeggs
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6 Tbspsweet butter, unsalted, melted
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3/4 cmaple syrup, the real stuff
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1/2 cwhite sugar, granulated variety
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1/4 clight brown sugar
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1 Tbsplight rum
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1 Tbspvanilla extract
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1 Tbspflour, all-purpose variety
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1 cchopped pecans
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1 cbittersweet chocolate chips
- PâTE SUCRéE (THE CRUST)
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3 cflour, all-purpose variety
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1/4 cwhite sugar, granulated variety
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1 tspkosher salt
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1 csweet butter, unsalted, chilled and cut into pieces
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2 mdegg yolks
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1/2 chalf-and-half
How To Make absolutely awesome chocolate & pecan tartlets
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1PÂTE SUCRÉE (THE CRUST)
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2Chef’s Note: What is a Pâte sucrée? Pâte sucrée is the French term for a sweet short crust pastry used to make tarts. Pâte sucrée is similar to Pâte Brisée, though it has more calories due to the addition of sugar and is slightly less fragile.
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3Cut the butter into cubes and keep very cool… cold, as a matter of fact.
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4Separate two eggs, and keep the yolks.
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5Chef’s Tip: If you don’t have a use for the whites, you can always freeze them and use them later. Waste not, want not.
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6Gather the remainder of your ingredients.
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7Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor, fitted with an S-Blade, and give it a couple of pulses to blend the dry ingredients.
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8Add the cold butter cubes, and give it 5 or 6, 1-second pulses, until it resembles a course meal.
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9Chef's Note: This method of doing a Pâte Sucrée is slightly different than the traditional method, but it helps to make a very flaky crust for the tartlets.
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10Chef’s Tip: If you want to perform this step another way, use a pastry blender or two knifes to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients.
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11Chef's Note: If you are using a food processor, remove the flour/butter from the mixer, and place in a large bowl. If you chose to use a pastry blender or two knifes, it should already be in a mixing bowl.
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12Whisk the egg yolks and half & half together, and then stir them into the flour/butter mixture using a fork.
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13Continue to gently mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
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14It should look something like this.
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15Chef’s Tip: You should see separate bits of butter along with the flour.
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16Separate the dough into two round balls, and then flatten each one with the palm of your hand. Then tightly wrap each ball in cling foil, and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
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17When ready, remove from refrigerator and place on a board lightly dusted with flour. You should have chunks of butter visible in the dough...
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18Chef’s Note: This recipe is designed for tartlets that are 4 inches (10cm). Each ball will make 6 tartlets.
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19Roll out one of the balls, until about ¼ inch in thickness, and then use a 4 inch (10cm) biscuit cutter to cut six circles in the flattened dough.
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20Place each round in a tartlet pan, push into the sides, and then add some chocolate chips to cover the bottom.
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21Place in the refrigerator and allow them to cool while making the filling.
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22THE PIE FILLING
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23Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat to 350f (176c).
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24Add the syrup, sugar, rum, flour and vanilla to a medium bowl, and lightly mix together.
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25Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl and beat until foamy.
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26Add the melted butter, and continue to beat.
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27Add to the maple syrup mixture, and beat a bit more (lots of beating going on here).
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28Finally, add the pecans, and stir to combine (what no more beating???)
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29Add about ¼ cup of the mixture to each of the cooled tartlet shells, right over the chocolate. It should fill it to the top of the crust.
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30Place into the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until the filling sets.
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31Chef's Note: If you choose to bake this as a whole 9-inch tart, increase the baking to 55 minutes.
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32Allow to completely cool on a wire rack before serving. Enjoy.
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33Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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