Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

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Looks are not deceiving when it comes to this dessert. It's as decadent as it looks. A chocolate crust holds a thick layer of salted caramel, sandwiched with a chocolate Ganache. Adding a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt before serving brings out the flavor of the chocolate and tempers the sweetness of the caramel.

Ingredients

Crust

⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1½ tsp. Kosher salt

1⅔ cups bread flour

1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

2 Tbsp. whole milk, chilled

Salted Caramel

1½ cups granulated sugar

⅛ tsp. cream of tartar

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

⅓ cup heavy cream

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Chocolate Ganache

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

½ cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces

Flaky finishing salt

Instructions

Crust

In a mixer bowl, add the cocoa, sugar, salt, flour and butter along with the mixer paddle.

Place and the bowl in the freezer and allow to chill for 15 minutes.

Remove the mixer bowl from the freezer and mix the dry ingredients until they are throughly mixed.

Add the chilled milk and mix until a dough forms. This will take longer than you think. Just allow the moisture to work and the dough will form.

Flatten into a ¾"-thick disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill until firm. Approximately 1½ - 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 14" round about ⅛" thick, dusting with more flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Fold the dough onto itself and then place inside your tart pan.

Unfold the dough in the tart pan and form the wall. Once the dough has been 90% form, use a floured glass and press the wall in the pan to form a smooth inside and to make sure the dough has pressed into the edges of the pan.

Refrigerate the crust uncovered for at least one hour.

Place pie weights on the dough or place parchment paper then dried beans on the dough to prevent bubbling. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges of crust are set. About 12 - 15 minutes.

Remove the pie weights or dried beans and parchment paper, from the tart dough. Bake for another 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wirerack.

Salted Caramel

In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, cream of tartar and ⅓ cup of sugar. Stir just enough to combine. You want the sugar liquidity but not disolved.

Bring to a boil.

Cook, swirling the mixture, not stir, every few minutes. As the it get futher along you will want to really swirl the pan to make sure the bottom sugar is swirling to the top.

Cook and swirl until the mixture comes to a dark amber. Remove the pan from the heat.

Stir in the butter, a couple of cubes at a time. Allowing for each set of butter to incorporate into the caramel before adding the next. Be careful of the mixture spattering.

Gradually stir in the heavy cream and then the salt. Stir to incorporate. DO NOT TASTE TEST UNTIL THE CARAMEL IS COOL. THIS IS HOT SUGAR AND WILL CAUSE EXTREME BURNS.

Pour the caramel into the cool tart shell. Using a rubber spatula, work the caramel to make a even layer.

Chill until caramel is set, at least 1 hour.

Chocolate Ganache

Create a double boiler by placing a medium bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Make sure the bowl is not touching the water.

Add the chocolate, heavy cream and butter to the bowl. Stir with a rubber spatula until ganache is smooth, about 5 minutes.

Pour the Ganache on top of the carmel. Using a rubber spatula, smooth the Ganache to an even layer.

Place the tart in the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour.

Sprinkle with the flake salt right before serving.