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Chocolate Miniature Tartlet Pastry: Put the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder in a food processor bowl.
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Process just to blend the ingredients.
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Scatter all the butter slices over the flour mixture, and process with on/off bursts until the mixture has the consistency of cornmeal.
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Whisk the egg and vanilla together in a small bowl.
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With the motor on, pour the egg mixture down the feed tube.
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Process until the ingredients form a ball.
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Remove dough to the work surface, and with heel of your hand press the dough together until it is smooth and cohesive.
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Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange four dozen ungreased 1 1/2-inch round fluted tins close together on a 12-x-15 1/2-x- 1/2-inch baking sheet.
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Pinch off 1 teaspoon of the dough and drop it into a tin.
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Repeat until all the tins contain dough.
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One by one, roll each piece of dough into a ball in the palms of your hands.
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(This step aids in shaping the tartlets more evenly.)
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With index finger, press center of dough ball into the tin, then press dough up the sides while rotating tin to distribute the dough evenly.
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Chocolate Frangipane Filling: Process all the filling ingredients in a food processor bowl until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps.
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Spoon about 1 teaspoon of it into each shell.
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Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the crusts edges appear dry and slightly firm to the touch.
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Place the baking sheet with tartlets on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, or until tins are cool enough to touch.
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Squeeze each tin between your thumb and forefinger, turn it upside down, and let the miniature tartlet drop into the palm of your hand.
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Place on rack to cool completely.
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Repeat the filling and baking procedure with the remaining dough.
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Decoration: Just before serving, place a thin fig slice on top of each tartlet.
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Stack undecorated tartlets in an airtight sturdy plastic container and freeze up to 10 days.
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Store decorated tartlets in one layer in a covered foil-lined cardboard container, such as a cake box, at room temperature up to 3 hours.
