Cara Damia

• *Fondant Pâtissier is not to be confused with roll fondant. It can be purchased online or found near by from your favorite patisserie.

Tartlets

• Flour work surface and work out half of the chilled pastry to soften – the dough should remain cool and supple. Roll out pastry into a ≈ 0.12-inch/3mm thick sheet, and cut out 8 rounds. Shape tart shells and freeze. Once ready to bake, line each tart with double layers of microwave-safe plastic wrap or parchment. Fill up with pie weights, beans, rice or cherry pits.

Baking

• Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Bake tart shells for 20 min with pie weights, and additional 5 minutes without until golden brown.

Caramelized Macadamia

• Cook sugar, water at 245ºF/118ºC. Toss in the macadamia, salt and vanilla. The mixture will begin to crystalize – Cook until caramelized stirring constantly. Let cool and keep them in a sealed container at room temperature for weeks. Do not refrigerate.

Coconut Dacquoise

• In a food processor blend dry ingredients. Turn oven on to 350ºF/180ºC. Beat egg whites and sugar to stiff peaks on high. Fold in dry ingredients. Spread coconut mixture into a 3/4-inch/2cm thick sheet on a baking tray lined with a lightly oiled silicone baking mat, or parchment.

Baking Dacquoise

• Bake coconut dacquoise for about 25 minutes. Cool and freeze. Flip dacquoise and cut into desired shapes.

Salted Caramel

• Bring up sugar and corn syrup to brown caramel on medium high heat. Turn heat off and add butter, hot cream, salt and vanilla. Turn heat back on and cook caramel to 216ºF/102ºC. Transfer to a container and let cool. Salted caramel can be kept for weeks in the refrigerator.

Dulce De Leche Milk Chocolate Mousse

• To start, soak gelatin in cold water to soften and drain. Next, gently melt milk chocolate and set it aside for later use. In a hot frying pan, cook sugar until it turns into a golden brown caramel on medium-high heat. Once ready, turn off the heat and deglaze the caramel with hot heavy cream. Bring the caramel mixture to a boil and transfer it into a small saucepan. In a separate bowl, temper the egg yolks with the caramel mixture and return them to the saucepan. Cook the mixture, similar to a creme Anglaise, until it reaches 185ºF/85ºC. Add the softened gelatin and strain the caramel creme Anglaise through a fine sieve over the melted milk chocolate. Mix everything together until well combined. Let the mixture cool down to 105ºF/40ºC before gently folding in the whipped cream using a whisk. Fill the half sphere silicone mold with the mousse mixture, ensuring not to exceed 1.7oz (50/55g) per serving. Freeze the mousse overnight or for up to 3 months to allow it to set perfectly. When ready to serve, carefully pop the frozen mousse out of the mold onto a frozen baking tray lined with plastic wrap and a frozen cooling rack.

Caramel Glaze

• Soak gelatin in cold water to soften and drain. Cook fondant to brown caramel on high heat. Turn heat off and pour in hot cream on thin stream. Bring back to boil and cool to 140ºF/60ºC. Add gelatin without adding too much friction to prevent air bubbles to form. Chill overnight before using or for up to a month. Any glaze made with gelatin should be chilled to rest for at least 12 hours before being rewarmed and used. When ready, rewarm caramel glaze to 86ºF/30ºC and glaze frozen mousse. Leftover glaze can be kept frozen for months for later use.

Montage

• Inside each tart shell, pipe out salted caramel which should not exceed ½ ounce/15g per tart. Crush some caramelized macadamia and sprinkle over salted caramel; about 15g per tart. Cover with a disk of coconut dacquoise (its diameter should be slightly smaller than the tart shell). Pull the glazed half sphere mousse from the freezer. Heat up quickly the blade of a small offset spatula in hot water, wipe it off and slide under the frozen dome crown each tart. The tiny gap left between the mousse and the seam of the crust can be filled with some craquelin or crushed caramelized macadamia.

Storage

• Once the pastries are finished, they can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. To thaw the pastries, simply transfer them from the freezer to the refrigerator and let them thaw overnight. To enhance the taste and texture of Cara Damia pastries, it is recommended to let them sit out at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving. This allows the pastries to slightly soften and reach the perfect consistency for indulging in their decadent flavors. Bon appétit!