Chocolate Caramel Tarts

By: Lucy Waverman

These decadent tarts combine two favourite flavours, caramel and chocolate. When making tart shells you need a slightly sturdier pastry than a regular sweet dough. It needs to be removed easily from the tartlet shells and weighting the shells with rice or beans takes too much time. This dough is made like a cookie dough to avoid these problems. As tartlet tins come in different sizes, use what you have - even small muffin tins work. Measure the top of the tin and use a cutter 1-inch (2.5-cm) bigger than the cup.

Pastry

3/4 cup (175 mL) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) cold water

Caramel

1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) water
1 tsp (5 mL) corn syrup
1/3 cup (75 mL) whipping cream

Chocolate

8 oz (250 g) European bitter or semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla essence

1. Place butter, salt and sugar in food processor. Process until mixture is light and fluffy. Add flour and water and just combine. Remove from processor and shape into a flat disc. Chill for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out pastry about 1/8-inch (3-mm) thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut circles to fit your tartlet tins. Ease pastry into tins and if it breaks then pat together again. If there is enough pastry make a rim around tart. Chill pastry for 30 minutes to allow it to relax. Prick base of pastry with a fork.
3. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
4. Bake tartlets 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Cool in tins. Remove before filling them.
5. Combine sugar, water and corn syrup in a heavy pot. Bring to boil and boil until sugar turns an amber colour, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream until well incorporated. Stir occasionally as mixture cools. Chill until mixture thickens.
6. Break up chocolate and place in a heavy pot with 1 cup (250 mL) cream. On low heat slowly melt chocolate, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
7. Stir in egg and vanilla and continue to stir together until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Cool.
8. Place 1 tsp (5 ml.) caramel in base of tart. Fill with chocolate mixture. Refrigerate tarts until chocolate mixture is set.
9. For an optional garnish, pipe tart with whipping cream or top with gold flakes or balls.

Makes 24 tarts

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Cheese and Chilli Muffins

By: Heather Trim

These moist muffins keep well, but do store them in an airtight container.

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1 tsp (5 mL) chilli powder
½ tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1½ cups (375 mL) finely diced extra-old Cheddar cheese
preferably orange-coloured
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 ¼ cups (300 mL) plain yogurt
¼ (50 mL) butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin in and around tops of cups. In a medium bowl, whisk flour with sugar, baking powder, salt, chilli powder and baking soda until well blended. Stir in cheese and jalapeño.

3. In a large bowl, stir yogurt with butter and eggs until blended. Add flour mixture and stir until just blended and batter is thick. Turn into muffin cups.

4. Bake in centre of preheated oven until a toothpick comes clean when inserted in the centre, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes. Run a knife around edge of muffins, turn out and serve warm or cool completely on a rack.

Makes 12 muffins

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Cheddar Cups with Fresh Tomato Relish & Crispy Pancetta

By: Marilyn Bentz-Crowley

These crispy cups are shaped in mini-muffin pans. Use orange cheddar to add a golden hue. While vodka may seem unusual, it releases alcohol-soluble flavours and most importantly, does not toughen cheese dough.

Cups

¼ cup (50 mL) butter, softened
1 tsp (5 mL) Dijon mustard
2 cups (500 mL) grated cheddar, at room temperature
¾ cup (175 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt ¼ tsp (1 mL) cayenne
1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 25 mL) vodka

Tomato Relish

1½ cups (375 mL) seeded and diced plum tomatoes
1 large green onion, finely sliced
3 to 4 tbsp (45 to 60 mL) finely chopped fresh basil or parsley
1 tbsp (15 mL) olive oil
¾ tsp (4 mL) red-wine vinegar
¼ tsp (1 mL) salt
Several grindings of black pepper

8 oz (250 g) pancetta or regular bacon, cooked and coarsely crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Coat mini-muffin cups with nonstick spray. Using electric beaters, briefly beat butter with mustard; then add cheese. Beat until well combined and only small bits of cheese are still visible. Stir flour with salt and cayenne; stir into cheese mixture. Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) vodka; stir until dough forms. Dough has cookie-like texture; if too dry, add another tbsp (15 mL) of vodka.

2. Gather dough into a log about 12 inches (30 cm) long. Cut in half lengthwise; then cut each half into quarters. Cut each quarter into 3 pieces ending up with 24 equal pieces of dough. Using your hands, shape each piece of dough into a cup-like shape. Fit into muffin-cups, pressing to evenly fill each cup right to top.

3. Bake in oven centre for 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool on a rack before turning out. If cheese cups stick, turn pan up-side down over rack; hold slightly above rack and lightly rap bottom of each muffin cup with back of a spoon until released. (Cheese cups can be made ahead and stored airtight at room temperature for several days or frozen for a month.)

4. To make relish, toss tomatoes with green onion and basil in a small bowl. Stir olive oil with vinegar, salt and pepper; add to tomato mixture. Gently stir to combine. (Mixture can sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, but loses flavour if refrigerated.)

5. When ready to serve, return cheddar cups on a metal tray to preheated 325°F (160°C) oven for 5 minutes to crisp. Cool slightly; then fill each with a spoonful of tomato mixture. Top with bacon bits, giving each cup a slight pat to firm up filling. Serve right away.

Makes 24 nibbles

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