Chocolate Nut Dough {ModBak}

July 16, 2011 at 10:00 pm (Cookies, Dessert, Modern Baker Challenge, Nick Malgieri, Press-in cookie crust, Sweet tart dough, Tart Crust, Tarts & Pies, The Modern Baker)
Tags: almonds, chocolate, cocoa, food processor, mini muffin pan, Modern Baker, Modern Baker Challenge, Nick Malgieri, Pastry dough, Tart dough, tartlets, wet dough

The last of the dough recipes in the Sweet Tarts & Pies section of The Modern Baker is only used in one recipe in the section — chocolate caramel pecan tartlets — although Nick Malgieri notes in the recipe that it would be good with any tart featuring chocolate. After my successes with sweet tart dough, nut tart dough, and press-in cookie dough, I knew this one would be great, too.

This recipe is similar to the nut tart dough, and even though it was my first time making it, I felt like I had done it before. I began by pulsing sugar and almonds in the food processor until the nuts were powdery.

Then I added flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, and pulsed to mix. Next, I put in cold butter that I had cut into small pieces, and pulsed the mixture until the butter was finely mixed in. Finally, the recipe called for an egg, egg yolk, and water. After adding the liquid ingredients, I mixed the dough until it came together in a ball.

I was making a half recipe and had to improvise on the liquids a bit (have you ever tried to mix in half an egg or half an egg yolk?) I used a whole egg, no yolk, and a very small amount of water. Nonetheless, my dough seemed a bit wet after it was mixed up. I thought about adding more flour, but decided just to chill it well and use plenty of flour when I rolled it out.

The dough firmed up nicely in the fridge, and with generous dusting, rolled out well, too. I was using the dough for tartlets, so I cut the rolled dough with a round scalloped cutter and pressed the circles into a mini muffin pan.

I chilled the dough in the pan for a few hours and baked it at 350°F for about 12 minutes. Despite having pricked the dough with a fork prior to baking, it rose up in the pan as it baked. I pressed the center of each tart down with a small ladle as soon as they came out of the oven, which worked well to get the tartlets in shape for filling.

The dough tasted great, almost like a chocolate cookie. As for the tartlets, well, you’ll just have to wait for my next post to see how they came out.