Chocolate-Covered Salted Peanut Cajeta Cups

I first saw this basic recipe on David Lebovitz's blog a few months back and my initial thoughts were that I needed to make these little chocolate cups. Yet, somehow, months passed and I still hadn't made them. Well, when I saw the altered recipe over at Salty Seattle just a few days ago, the replacement of the caramel with the cajeta (basically a dulce de leche made with goat's milk instead of cow's) just sang to me and I immediately bought all of the ingredients.
These bitty cups are ah-mazing! The cajeta imparts a unique flavor that you can't quite obtain with simple caramel. It's so delicious that I'm sure you wont be disappointed by the fact that the cajeta recipe I'm giving you makes more cajeta than you'll need for the chocolate cups.

Aren't they pretty?

Chocolate-Covered Salted Peanut Cajeta Cups

recipe from here

ingredients:

filling:

• 1/2 cup cajeta (recipe below)
• 1/2 cup raw Spanish peanuts
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp fleur de sel

chocolate cups:

• 20+ small baking cups
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate (I used Scharffen Berger)
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Lindt)
• Finishing salt (I used Cyprus flake salt and Hiwa Kai- black, charcoal-dusted, Hawaiin sea salt)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Roast the peanuts, butter, and salt in the oven for about 15 minutes, stirring a couple times to ensure even coating (I roasted mine in a mini cast iron skillet because it happened to be the absolute perfect size!). Remove from the oven and stir the mixture into the cajeta. 
3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (checking every 30 seconds).
4. Using a small spoon, dab a bit of the chocolate into the bottom of each baking cup. Spread it around so that it evenly coats the bottom and up the sides.  
5. Now fill each cup with about 1 teaspoon of the cajeta/peanut mixture.  
6. Finally, top each cup off with more of the chocolate and spread it around so the top is smooth and the chocolate drips down the sides of the baking cup just a bit. Sprinkle with some finishing salt before the chocolate dries.
7. Place in the fridge to harden for at least 10 minutes and, voila!- Heaven in a cup!

Cajeta

recipe from Rick Bayless (who I am absolutely obsessed with as of late)

ingredients:

• 1 quart goat's milk
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 tsp of baking soda dissolved in 1 1/2 tsp water

1. In a dutch oven, combine the milk, sugar and cinnamon stick over medium heat. Stir until the milk comes to a simmer and the sugar is dissolved. 
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the baking soda/water. It should foam up, and after the bubbles subside, return to the heat.
3. Maintain the mixture at a "brisk simmer" and stir regularly until the mixture becomes a pale golden color. This will probably take about an hour, and though it may seem like a while, the end product tastes more amazing than you will ever know.
4. Begin stirring quite frequently, scraping down the sides, as the mixture turns a more caramel-y brownish color and thickens to a more syrup-like consistency.  Don't be alarmed when the mixture starts bubbling up like this. It wil do this many times during the cooking process and always goes back down (at least mine did).
5. To test the cajeta, Rick suggests dropping a couple of drops on a cold plate. The caramel should be the consistency of a medium-thick caramel sauce when cool. He says that if your mixture is too thick, you should stir in a tablespoon of water and remove from the heat.
6. When done, pour the cajeta through a fine-mesh strainer and, when cool, refrigerate until you are ready to use.