These Mini Butterscotch Tartlets are deliciously decadent little treats that are perfect for an afternoon tea party, special occasion or the Holidays - combining Mini Tartlet Shells with a homemade Salted Butterscotch Sauce filling.
Place the Plain Flour, Icing Sugar and Salt in the bowl of your food processor (see note 1). Pulse for a few seconds to mix. Add the very cold cubed Butter and blend until you get very small crumbs (see note 2).
Add the Egg and mix until a rough dough starts to come together. Check the consistency by pressing together some small pieces of dough in your hand. If they stick together, the pastry is ready. If the dough seems dry and crumbly, add a few drops of very cold butter and mix again until you get the desired consistency.
Bring the mixture together and place between two large sheets of baking paper. Roll into a large disk that is about 4mm (1/8 inch) thick using a rolling pin (see note 3). Place on a flat tray and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
Remove the baking paper from the chilled dough. Cut out small disks of pastry using a round or fluted cookie cutter that is at least as wide as the muffin cups opening (see note 4). Re-roll the excess pastry and chill for 2 hours to make more tart shells.
Gently slide the disk of pastry into the muffin pan. Lightly press on the corners to remove any air bubbles and make sure the pastry completely touches the muffin pan on all sides. Push the sides of the tarts against the pan to make sure the pastry sticks to it.
Place back in the fridge to chill and rest for at least one hour, preferably overnight for the best results.
Preheat your oven on 160 degrees Celsius / 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Dock the bottom of the chilled pastry (prick with a small fork) then place in the freezer while the oven is preheating. Place a crunched up piece of baking paper over the bottoms of crusts and fill with pie weights, dried beans or rice.
Bake for 15 minutes then remove the baking paper and weights. Place back in the oven for another 12 to 15 minutes, or until the crusts are fully baked and dried to the touch. Place on a wire rack to cool down completely.
Butterscotch Filling
Place the Cream in a small bowl and heat up in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until warm. Set aside.
Place the Brown Sugar and cubed Butter in a small saucepan. Turn on low to medium heat and leave to melt, occasionally stirring. Once it has completely melted, leave to simmer for a couple of minutes (See note 5).
Pour the warm cream into the melted brown sugar (be careful as it could splash around). If the cream has cooled down, re-heat it up first (see note 6). Stir well with a heat-proof spatula until completely smooth then continue to cook for about 2 minutes on low to medium heat, occasionally stirring.
Add the Salt and Vanilla Paste. Mix to combine then leave to simmer for 3 to 5 minutes on low to medium heat until the sauce has slightly thickened (see note 7).
Carefully pour the butterscotch sauce into a clean pouring jug (it will be very hot), then pour into the baked tartlet crusts straight away while still warm. Gently tap the bottom of the tarts against a hard surface to pop any air bubbles and insure a smooth top.
Place the tarts in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, or until ready to serve. The longer it chills, the thicker and more set the filling will be.
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Notes
If you don't have a food processor, you can make the pastry by hands. Find the instructions in my Pâte Sablée recipe.
The larger the crumbs, the flakier the pastry will be. We want to avoid too much flakiness for this recipe to prevent the tart cases from puffing too much.
You will get the best results by using a rolling pin with thickness rings. That will help you insure an even thickness throughout the pastry.
I recommend starting by cutting one disk of pastry with the cookie cutter and lining it inside the muffin pan to check if you need a wider cookie cutter or not (depending on how deep you want the tartlets to be). If the pastry is a bit hard when it comes out of the fridge, let it come back to room temperature for a few minutes. If it becomes too soft and starts to break, put it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
It will look like the mixture has split as the fat from the butter won't incorporate into the melted sugar. Don't worry though, it will come together at the next step.
Using warm cream is a great way to avoid crystallising the sugar. It also will prevent the mixture from splashing around which could cause burns.
The butterscotch filling will appear to be quite liquid and thin at this stage, that's normal. It will thicken as it cools.