Muddy Waters

Blues and baking go hand in hand, particularly on an overcast Sunday afternoon. As one of my favourite genres of music, blues holds a special place in my heart, having the ability to take me back to the 1950s sitting around the kitchen table with Muddy Waters and one of his many lady friends as he woos them with promises of cruising around town in automobiles, to a simpler time when music was so powerfully emotive and seemingly literally from the soul of the artist.

Muddy Waters is a true hero of the blues (Delta Blues) and one of my favourite musicians ever, it is with great sorrow that he has passed before getting the opportunity to see him perform in person. The deep guitar offered by Muddy is truly unique along with stellar vocals make him someone very special to listen to.

This became inspiration for todays kitchen play around, Double Chocolate and Caramel tarts. But before that just one more to get into the mood, taking us back to the days in which a the women could stay at home and bake all day long, and just play around in the kitchen making food a major part of the family’s day.

So, back to the task at hand, making these delicious little treats, and I say little because this recipe makes 4 individual 8cm tarts, so perfect for those who live with just one other having a few over for a partay (and it will be a party with Muddy humming along in the background).

What you will need to get started
Oven preheated at 180 degrees
4 individual tart/flan tins
small saucepan
measures and weights
greaseproof paper
patience

Mix it all up in here…to make the chocolate shortcrust that is (we are making this with our hands, you could use a processor if you like, but we are going back to old days here)

1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon icing sugar (powdered for those from the Northern Hemisphere)
100g plain flour
pinch of salt
75gm chilled unsalted butter (if you only have salted leave out the extra salt)
2 tablespoons of iced water

For the caramel filling
1 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons butter (salted is best)
1/2 cup cream
salt

For Chocolate ganache
100 gm Dark Chocolate
1/4 cup Cream

Place flour, cocoa, sugar and salt into your mixing bow, add the chopped butter and rub into flour mix until the consistency of rough breadcrumbs.

Add in the water 1 spoon at a time and using a palate know bring the mixture together gently, this will essentially clump, then using your hands bring the dough together into a ball.
Transfer dough onto a lightly floured bench and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth, form into a disc, wrap in plastic and put in the fridge for about 30 minutes to chill.

Here we have live footage of Muddy and another Blues legend BB King playing a 30 minute set together, better than any obnoxious timer buzzing right?

Take the dough from the fridge, unwrap and place on a floured bench, roll out to about 3-5mil thick, remember to roll from the centre outwards to keep it even and smooth, using your palate knife, cut dough into quarters, gently lifting the dough lay into each tin and gently press base and sides, remove overhang from around the top of the tin.

Please note, I am not a professional chef and I use and iPhone 6 for photos, so I cannot promise perfection, but at least it will be tasty and look “rustic”.

Line the tarts with baking paper and pop in some baking weights or if like me you don’t own these some rice to prevent the shortcrust from rising (this is blind baking)

Bake the shells for about 12 minutes covered and 6 minutes uncovered, the pastry will be crisp and come away from the sides of the tin.

Set the tart shells aside while we prepare the caramel for the filling, this take some patience and focus, when I first tried this recipe I thought I had gotten it wrong but it came together at the end (luckily).

Put sugar in a small saucepan, over a medium heat, using a metal spoon continuously stir the sugar to avoid burning, once a nice caramel colour and all sugar has dissolved add in butter, using a whisk to stir continuously (it will foam up), once it has settled and combined well, add in the cream off the heat, mix in for a smooth glossy caramel, finally add in a good pinch of salt flakes.

Let the caramel cool slightly and pour into our lovely handmade pastry cases

Pop in the fridge to cool and set while we make the chocolate ganache. To make the ganache add the dark chocolate and cream into a saucepan and put over a medium-low heat.

Keep stirring with a metal spoon to avoid burning the chocolate, keep on the heat until glossy and smooth. Take the chilled tarts out of the fridge and pour over your ganache, I have kept mine very free form. Put back into the fridge to let the ganache set slightly or eat it while its all gooey, both ways are delicious!