Service for 4

Ingredients for Tart Pastry

5 T butter
1/2 cup confectionerrs sugar
1 cup flour
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 medium-(small) sized egg yolk

Cream together with fingers butter and confectioners sugar. Add the egg yolks and work them in using a whisk. Add the flour and cocoa and mix quickly Be careful not to overwork the mixture.

Divide the mixture into 4 balls and roll out to a flat surface. Place each in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Transfer rolls to a lightly floured surface and roll out each dough to 1/8 inch thickness. It may be easier to roll out the dough between two pieces of parchement or wax paper. Cut circles using a 4 1/4" round. Line the 3 1/4 x 1/2 inch pastry tarts shells (Matfer shells are ideal here). Place the tart shells on top of some parchement paper. Lightly poke a fork several times into the tart bottom. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 350F. Line each tart shell bottom with baking paper and place some rice or beans on top. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove the paper and beans and bake another 8 minutes or until the tart begins to turn golden brown.

Caramel Sauce

1 tsp water
1/2 cup sugar
1 T butter
1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt sugar with 1 tsp water till sugar begins to turn golden brown. Add butter and whisk till mixed in. Take pan off heat and add the cream very slowly to prevent splattering.

Chocolate Ganache

4 oz. dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 t corn syrup
1/2 t of coffee extract

This is a recipe for Medium-Textured Ganache or the Master Ganache which uses a ratio of 1 : 1 chocolate to cream. Make the ganache by pouring about half of the hot cream over the chocolate and letting it sit for 30 seconds to melt the chocolate. Then slowly whisk until smooth and homogenous. Do not add all of the hot cream to the cold chocolate at once, it may cause the fat in the chocolate to separate. If the ganache separates, it is very easy to fix. Simply add a small amount of cold cream and whisk well. This will bring the ganache back together.

Assembling the Tart

Pour 1 tsp of caramel sauce into each tart and sprinkle with some crush Macadamia Nuts. Put the tarts in the freezer for a few minutes to set.

Add the chocolate ganache and let set at room temperature for a couple of hours to set.

NOTE: You can make small cookies with left over dough. Chop in some macadamia nuts for a variation. Put a scoop of ice cream on top of each cookie.