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1
Place the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and pepper into the bowl of a food processor.
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2
Pulse to combine.
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3
Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.
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4
Add the egg yolk and ice water and pulse just until a crumbly dough starts to form do not overwork, or your crusts will be tough.
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5
Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.
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6
The dough freezes for 1 month if wrapped well and sealed in a freezer-safe bag.
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7
When ready to continue, preheat the oven to 350 F and brush a baking sheet with melted butter.
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8
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 10 minutes just to come up to a workable temperature.
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9
Scatter a clean work surface with a small amount of flour and roll the dough out to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
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10
Remember that the less the dough is worked and heated, the more tender it will be.
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11
So work quickly, and use your fingertips rather than the palms of your hands.
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12
Using a 3 1/2 or 4 inch round cookie cutter (fluted if possible), cut out circles of dough and transfer to the baking sheet.
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13
Roll out the dough scraps again and cut out more circles.
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14
Continue until youve used up the dough.
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15
Prick the dough circles all over with a fork and bake for 8 minutes.
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16
Rotate the pan and bake for another 4 to 8 minutes until the crusts are dry and firm.
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17
Place the baking sheet on a rack to cool.
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18
In a medium bowl, stir the mascarpone cheese until creamy.
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19
With a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
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20
Add them to the mascarpone with the Marsala wine and stir until well combined.
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21
Just before serving, divide the mascarpone cheese between the tart crusts and swirl out with the back of a spoon.
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22
Arrange the fig slices (about 9 - 11 for each tartlet) with their tops pointing in to the center of the circle (see photo above), and sprinkle each one with a few strips of orange zest.
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23
Serve immediately.
