Salted Caramel and Macadamia Tartlets, No Sugar to Boil

Method

1. Check the cases first. Out of a sealed box they are crisp; if the box has been open in a humid kitchen, three minutes at 150°C on a dry tray brings the snap back. Cool them completely before anything wet goes near them.
2. Melt the dark chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, stirring between each one, until it is smooth and only just fluid.
3. Brush or smear a thin layer inside each case, across the base and up the wall, then refrigerate for 10 minutes to set.
4. Stir the caramel sauce in the jar until it is even. Straight from a warm cupboard it will be loose, so give it 20 minutes in the fridge first.
5. Spoon about a level tablespoon into each case, stopping a couple of millimetres below the rim so the nuts have somewhere to sit.
6. Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. Go by the surface rather than the clock: tilt one, and the caramel should move as a single piece and hold the mark of a teaspoon instead of running to the edge. A cold kitchen gets there faster than a warm one.
7. Chop the macadamias while you wait. Halves and quarters, not dust, because fine crumbs turn to paste on a caramel surface.
8. Scatter the nuts over each tartlet and press them in lightly so they set into the surface and do not roll off the first time the tray tilts.
9. Add a small spoon of whipped cream if you are using it, and flaky salt only if the macadamias were unsalted.
10. Take them out of the fridge 10 minutes before they are served. Fridge cold flattens caramel and mutes the salt.

Ahead of time

The cases keep for months sealed in their box, which makes this a dessert you produce at short notice rather than one you plan. With the chocolate barrier in place, filled tartlets hold overnight in the fridge under a loose cover; add the nuts and the cream on the day so they stay crisp. Without the barrier, treat them as a two hour proposition.

Questions we get asked

Do you need to cook caramel sauce before filling a tart?

No. A jarred caramel sauce has already been cooked, and warming it only makes it runnier, which is the opposite of what a pastry case wants. The setting is done by the fridge, not the stove. Cooking is only necessary when you start with sugar and cream, and that is the stage where caramel crystallises, seizes or catches.

How do you stop a caramel tart going soggy?

Seal the case before you fill it. A thin layer of melted chocolate, set for 10 minutes in the fridge, keeps the moisture in the filling and out of the pastry. After that it is temperature and timing: fill with cold caramel rather than warm, keep the tray in the fridge, and add anything fresh at the last minute.

Can you make caramel tartlets the day before?

Yes, with the barrier. Fill them, cover the tray loosely and refrigerate overnight, then top with the nuts an hour before they are eaten. Caramel holds up better overnight than curd or cream, because there is less free water in it. Without the chocolate layer, fill them in the couple of hours before you serve.

What nuts go best with salted caramel?

Macadamia first, because it is high in fat and low in bitterness, so it reads as buttery next to the sugar rather than fighting it. Pecan, hazelnut and peanut work for the same reason. Walnut is the one to avoid, since the skin is tannic and turns slightly bitter against caramel. To salt the tart yourself instead, Nutworks Oven Roast Macadamias are the unsalted version of the same nut.

A box of six in the cupboard and a jar of caramel behind it is a dessert you never have to decide on in advance. The medium cases sit with the rest of the Confiletas range, the festive entertaining shelf covers the savoury end of the same table, and if you would rather send sweet things than make them, the Christmas hampers do that job. Orders placed before 12pm on a weekday are dispatched the same day from our Corio, VIC warehouse, tracked with Australia Post, and shipping is free Australia-wide over $100.