Double Chocolate Espresso Millionaire's Tartlets
Inspired by the character of Araminta Gun in Bridgerton: Season 4, these tartlets feature a chocolate shortbread crust, an espresso caramel filling and a shiny, dark chocolate ganache layer, all topped off with a sprinkling of sea salt.
Servings 9 tartlets
Equipment
- 9 x 10cm diameter tartlet tins
Ingredients
For the chocolate shortbread:
- 75 g caster sugar
- 225 g plain flour
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 180 g salted butter, cold and diced, plus extra for greasing (see Note 1).
For the espresso caramel layer:
- 100 g salted butter (see Note 1).
- 1 x 397g can condensed milk
- 100 g dark muscovado sugar
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder, dissolved in a splash of hot water.
For the ganache layer:
- 90 g dark chocolate, finely chopped (see Note 2).
- 180 ml double cream
- 1/2 tsp glucose syrup (see Note 3).
To finish:
- Flaky sea salt (I used Fleur de Sel, but any sea salt would work).
Instructions
Make the chocolate shortbread tartlet shells:
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (conventional oven, not fan). Grease 9 tartlet tins lightly with butter and set aside.
- Place all of the shortbread ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a dough forms (this will take a bit of time— just keep processing and it will come together! Don't be tempted to add any water.).
- Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and finish bringing it together with your hands. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions, one for each tartlet tin.
- Press a ball of dough into one of the tartlet tins, aiming to get an even layer of shortbread right across the bottom and up the sides of the tin. Leave a small amount of overhang at the top of the tin, then use a rolling pan to roll over the top of the tin to remove the extra dough and leave a super neat edge. The dough offcuts can be used to make a few little chocolate biscuits that can be baked alongside the tartlets.
- Prick the dough on the base of each tartlet all over with a fork, then bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until the surface looks dry (the shortbread will still puff up quite a bit, but that's okay— we'll fix it in the next step!).
- As soon as the tartlet shells come out of the oven, use a dessertspoon/metal cup measure to gently press the shortbread down on the base and around the sides. The shortbread will still be quite soft when it's warm, so you can easily reshape it to make the perfect little tart shells.
- Leave the tarts to one side to cool slightly while you make the caramel layer.
Make the espresso caramel layer:
- Place the butter, condensed milk, dark muscovado sugar and golden syrup into a saucepan (preferably one with a pouring spout, if you have one). Set over low heat and stir every now and then until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Turn the heat up slightly to medium-low and allow the mixture to boil, stirring frequently, for a couple of minutes, until thick.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the dissolved instant espresso powder until completely incorporated.
- Pour the hot caramel into the tartlet shells, filling each tartlet about 3/4 full (you need to leave room for the ganache layer). Set the tartlets aside at room temperature to cool completely (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).
Make the ganache layer:
- Once the tartlets are completely cool, make the ganache layer. Place all of the ganache ingredients into a microwaveable jug and heat on the lowest setting in 30 second bursts, stirring in between each burst, until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth, shiny ganache. If you don't have a microwave, bring the cream and glucose syrup to just below a simmer in a saucepan, then pour over the chopped chocolate, leave to stand for a minute, then stir until smooth.
- Pour the ganache onto the cooled tartlets, filling them right up to the top, so that the ganache sits level with the top of the shortbread crust. Give the tarts a gentle shake from side to side to make sure the ganache layer is smooth and completely covers the caramel layer below.
- Transfer the tarts to the fridge and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. The tarts can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days, so you can make them ahead of time (the espresso flavour will also get more intense as they chill).
To serve:
- Carefully remove the tartlets from their tins. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and serve.
Notes
- You can use unsalted butter instead: use the same amount but add a pinch or two of fine sea salt.
- I used a 54% dark chocolate, which isn't super dark, but works really well with the other flavours. If you want a slightly more bitter, intense flavour, use a darker chocolate (a 70% would work well!).
- Adding a small amount of glucose syrup to the ganache makes it super shiny and helps it slice really nicely. Glucose syrup is a bit of a specialist ingredient though so, if you don't have it to hand, you can use golden syrup instead. Golden syrup has a slightly more intense, caramel-y flavour and sweetness, so, if you do this, so you might want to consider using a darker chocolate to balance it out.