Chocolate, Caramel and Whipped Cream Tartlet

Place the soft butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and incorporate the sifted icing sugar and salt. Add the egg, then the sifted flour, and knead briefly until the dough comes together into a ball.

Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.

Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F.

Roll out the dough to 2 mm thickness using a rolling pin. Lightly prick the dough with a fork and cut out circles slightly larger than your tartlet rings.

Place the pastry inside the tartlet rings (the holes made with the fork should end up on the underside).

A few tips for lining tartlet rings neatly: push the pastry inward against the ring and, using your index finger, create a right angle all the way around. Form a slight raised edge on the inside, run the rolling pin across the top to trim the excess, then pinch the pastry to form a neat border (video tutorial available online).

Line each tartlet shell with baking parchment, fill with ceramic baking beads or dried pulses, and bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool.

Heat the cream and milk together in a saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale.

When the cream and milk mixture is hot, pour it into the bowl, mix well, then return everything to the saucepan.

Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens without boiling (known as cooking “à la nappe”, staying below 85°C / 185°F).

Pour the crème anglaise over the chopped chocolate and blend with a hand blender until smooth and homogeneous.

Cover with cling film pressed directly onto the surface and set aside in the refrigerator.

The next day, allow the cremeux to come back to room temperature before using.

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water to soften.

In a saucepan, heat the sugar until it forms a caramel.

Meanwhile, bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla pod.

Reduce the heat and pour the hot milk into the caramel, stirring to combine. Continue heating until all the caramel has dissolved.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale, then add the cornflour.

Pour the caramel mixture over the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

Return everything to the saucepan and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, stirring until the mixture thickens.

Add the drained gelatine, then the butter, and stir to combine.

Pour the cremeux into your insert mould (I used a financier tin). Leave to cool, then place in the freezer overnight.

Place the mixing bowl and the electric mixer beaters in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

Pour the cream and mascarpone into the chilled bowl and begin whisking at medium speed. As the cream starts to firm up slightly, increase the speed. The cream will gradually thicken and stiffen.

Check the consistency periodically by stopping the mixer — the cream is ready when it holds its shape completely and doesn’t fall if you tip the bowl. Take care not to over-whip or it will turn to butter; stop at the right moment.

Remember to add the icing sugar, vanilla seeds and grated tonka bean when the cream is nearly whipped.

Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and keep refrigerated until assembly.

Pour the chocolate cremeux over the tartlet shells and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Remove the caramel cremeux domes from the freezer and unmould them. Place 3 or 4 domes on top of the chocolate cremeux.

Pipe the whipped cream over each tartlet in a rosette shape and dust with a little unsweetened cocoa powder.