Chocolate caramel tartlets with cremeux, ganache montee and chocolate velvet

Cream the butter, salt, sugar and almond meal; add the egg, then the flour and cocoa powder in two additions; mix until combined, wrap into a slab and chill completely.

Split the pastry in half, work it until softened but still cool and pliable without overworking, and roll to a 3 mm sheet, keeping it moving on the counter.

Prick with a fork, cut into rounds and chill to rest; set each loosely in a greased ring and press against the edges with no gaps, leaving a lip.

Chill, shave the lip off evenly, and chill overnight.

Line with microwave-safe plastic wrap and fill with rice, beans or pie weights; bake 15 minutes with the weights and 10 more without.

Smooth the baked shells with sandpaper or a microplane; they keep up to two weeks in dry storage.

Cook sugar in a hot frying pan on high heat until brown and beginning to smoke, stir in the hot cream, butter and salt, cook a couple of minutes and cool to room temperature.

Coat the bottom of each shell with one tablespoon, about 20 g, of salted caramel and chill.

Boil the half and half with a third of the sugar; mix the rest of the sugar into the yolks; temper the yolks with the hot half and half and cook the creme anglaise to 185F, 85C, without boiling.

Sieve the creme anglaise over the melted dark chocolate, blend, fill the tartlets almost to the top and refrigerate to set.

Blend half the heavy cream, hot, with melted chocolate, add the remaining chilled cream, blend and refrigerate overnight.

Whip the ganache montee to medium-firm peaks and pipe a rattlesnake shape with a Saint-Honore tip.

Optionally spray a warm mix of 50% cocoa butter and chocolate over the frozen tartlets for a thin velvety crust.