Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart
Alexandra always gets me to make the most fun things. Last year, I made one of the things I’m most proud of – a Rainbow Explosion Cake. This year, even though we aren’t in the office, I promised another birthday treat and the request was “something with chocolate and caramel.”
So here’s a chocolate caramel tart!
Start by making the crust. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioners sugar and cocoa until smooth.
Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until creamy.
Add the flour and beat until dough comes together.
Press the dough into the bottom and sides of a 10-inch tart pan, making sure to turn the corners well.
Line the dough with tin foil and fill with pie weights. I used dry beans because I remembered too late that I had convinced my mom we needed pie weights when we were in Duxbury, so they’re in her kitchen, not mine.
Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and weights and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until dry and set. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Next, make the caramel. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Heat over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, to bring to a boil.
Once it’s boiling, continue to cook, swirling the pot occasionally, until medium amber in color. This will take 10 to 15 minutes.
When amber, remove from heat and quickly whisk in the heavy cream, butter and creme fraiche. Be careful here – this will bubble up and the steam is very hot, so try to do this without burning your hands. (I failed.)
Once smooth, pour into the chocolate tart shell and allow to set for at least an hour.
Once the caramel is set, you can make the chocolate glaze. Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to boil.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until smooth.
Pour the glaze over the caramel and spread to the edges with an offset spatula.
Put in your fridge for about an hour, and then sprinkle with sea salt. Continue to refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
Side note: 10-inch pie tarts are big. And take up a lot of fridge space. With Madison and I both spending our quarantine days here, fridge space is a precious luxury. Makes me appreciate the size of my mom’s fridge all the more.
Anyways, no side cut pictures for you because I delivered this to Alexandra in a curbside social distancing exchange. If you, too, would like curbside pickup of sweets, it makes me happy because I get to make things more exciting than granola.
Enjoy!
Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart
Ingredients:
Chocolate Dough
- 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups flour
Caramel
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
Chocolate Glaze
- 3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 to 85%), chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- sea salt
Directions:
Chocolate Dough
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar and cocoa until smooth.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and beat until creamy.
- Add flour and beat until dough comes together.
- Press dough into bottom and sides of 10-inch tart pan. Line with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until set and dry.
- Remove to wire rack to cool.
Caramel
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup.
- Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until boiling.
- Continue to boil until amber brown in color, swirling pan occasionally, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and quickly whisk in the butter, heavy cream and creme fraiche until smooth.
- Pour into prepared chocolate dough and allow to set at room temperature for about an hour.
Chocolate Glaze
- Put chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
- Heat heavy cream over medium high heat until just starts to boil. Pour heavy cream over chocolate and whisk until smooth.
- Pour glaze over the top of the caramel and use an offset spatula to spread to the edges.
- Allow to chill for an hour before sprinkling with sea salt. Continue to refrigerate until ready to serve.
