Chocolate Nougatine Tartlets

Makes: 12 - 14 tartlets

Preparation time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Refrigerate: 1 hour

Ingredients
Almond pastry
• 120 g soft unsalted butter
• 75 g icing sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 25 g ground almonds
• 1 egg
• 200 g flour, sifted
Nougatine
• 40 g sliced almonds
• 75 g caster sugar
• 30 g mild honey
Chocolate Cream
• 300 ml whipping cream
• 3 eggs
• 60 g caster sugar
• 120 g dark (70%) chocolate, chopped

Method

Almond pastry
Beat the unsalted butter with the icing sugar, salt and almonds; blend well. Add the
egg then the sifted flour; roughly mix to combine. Press the crumbs into a ball then,
on a lightly floured work surface, use the heel of the hand to push bits of dough
away from you, smearing them across the work surface to blend the unsalted butter
and flour. Work quickly; repeat if necessary. Form into a ball, flatten slightly and
wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for 30 min.

Preheat the oven at 180°C (355°F). Butter 12 -14 8 cm tartlet moulds. Dust the
work surface with flour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3 mm. Using a 10 cm
pastry cutter, stamp out 12 - 14 rounds of dough. Line the moulds with the dough
and prick the pastry bases using a fork. 

Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Bake the dough-lined moulds for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool on a rack. Lower the
oven temperature to 150°C (300°F).

Nougatine
Cover a baking sheet with baking parchment and place the sliced almonds on it.
Toast in the oven for 5 minutes, or until lightly coloured. Place the sugar and honey
in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Increase
the heat and boil (do not stir) for about 10 minutes, or until the syrup becomes
amber coloured. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the toasted almonds.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and place another sheet of
parchment on top. Using a rolling pin, spread the nougatine into a layer 2 mm thick.
When cool, coarsely grind in a food processor.
Chocolate cream
Heat the cream until simmering. Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat until
pale yellow and creamy. Stir ⅓ of the cream quickly into the eggs and sugar and
mix well to combine; return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low heat,
stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until thickened and the mixture coats the
back of the spoon. (Do not allow to boil!) Remove from the heat immediately and
strain over the chopped chocolate; stir carefully until smooth.

Assembly and Decoration

Place the nougatine in the tartlet shells to come to ¾ up the sides and fill with the
chocolate cream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until the cream is firm. Sprinkle with
the remaining nougatine.