Salted chocolate caramel tartlets

Talk about perfect timing: the fall issue of my favorite food magazine arrived one day after I’d opened a jar of dulce de leche just to eat a spoonful of it (just ONE, guys, I swear). :)
Since I could not eat the remaining contents of that jar – wanted to, but couldn’t – I’d already started thinking of something to make with it; that was when, flipping through the beautiful pages of the magazine, I saw these tartlets – filled with dulce de leche and topped with ganache, they were just what I needed.
I know that not everyone likes salt in their sweets – my sister had her tartlet without salt – so consider it an optional addition.

***

So you don’t think I’ve forgotten about the “The Hunger Games” trilogy: after reading the first two books in a very short period of time, I’ve been procrastinating like hell with “Mockinjay” – is it just me or this book is boooring? :/

Salted chocolate caramel tartlets
slightly adapted from the always wonderful Donna Hay Magazine

Pastry:
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ cup (45g) cocoa
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (78g) icing sugar
pinch of salt
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (127g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon iced water

Filling and topping:
1 cup dulce de leche
1/3 cup (80ml) heavy cream
120g (4oz) dark chocolate chopped
sea salt flakes, for sprinkling – I used Maldon

Start with 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°C/350°F.
Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil (or use nonstick foil) and cut roughly into six squares; place the foil squares, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. And here is the very best part: Since you froze the crust, you can bake it without weights. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then carefully peel off the foil. If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon. 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 tartlets with the ganache and refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Sprinkle with salt to serve.

Makes 6 – I made the exact recipe above, used 9cm (3½in) tartlet pans and got 10 tartlets; I first divided the pastry in 8 parts, then rerolled the scraps once to get two more tartlets