Salted Chocolate Caramel Tarts

I've been busy for the last few days. I've been eating at the best Spanish restaurant in town, drinking the best coffee you can wrap your laughing gear around, eating lip-smackingly-good gelato and watching silly movies.   But I love to come home to my stash of chocolate - it's my security blanket.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Tarts

from Donna Hay 

Makes 6

For the Pastry:
150g plain flour
50g cocoa
80g icing sugar
pinch of salt
125g unsalted butter, cold and chopped
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon iced water

For the Filling:
1 cup dulce de leche

For the Topping:
125ml cream
175g dark chocolate chopped
sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

Make the Pastry:
Place the flour, cocoa, icing sugar, salt in a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. With the motor running, add the egg yolks and vanilla, then the iced water and process just until a dough starts to form. Transfer to a large piece of plastic wrap and bring the dough together with the tips of your fingers. Shape into a disk and wrap in the plastic. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Lightly butter six 8cm tartlet pans. Divide the pastry into 6 parts. Between two pieces of lightly floured baking paper roll each piece of pastry into a rough circle then line the pans, removing the excess pastry. Prick the pastry with a fork then freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Cut 6 pieces of baking paper a little larger that the tart pans. Scrunch them up in your fist then put them on top of the pastry. Place some baking weights inside the paper to weight the pastry down so that it doesn't puff up while baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then carefully lift the paper and weights out of the pastry cases. Bake the crusts for 10-15 minutes longer or until cooked through. Cool completely in the pans.

Divide the dulce de leche between the pastry cases and, using the back of a spoon, spread evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Place the cream in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until smooth and glossy. Spread the tarts with the ganache and refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Sprinkle with salt to serve.