I know a good tart, and this is a GOOOOOOD tart.
I whipped this baby up a couple of weeks ago for a Shabbat dinner (Friday night dinner) to take to the Bozics home. Now, let me tell you, this family has absolutely no sweet tooth. None. Nada. Zip. They lean so heavily towards savoury that they'd choose a garden variety beefy kebab skewer over an award winning biscuit any day. Sure, they asked me to make schnitzel, and I gladly obliged, but there was no way I was showing up without dessert. That would be like Batman without Robin. Plus, my kids would never forgive me.
For dessert, I decided to make one of my all-time favourites: a salted caramel chocolate tart. I thought a pinch of salt might make it a tad more savoury and appealing to the Bozics taste buds.
I love everything about this tart (or pie—I honestly don't know the difference). The flaky, buttery pastry crust melts in your mouth the moment it hits your lips. The sweet, silky, smooth caramel and rich dark chocolate ganache balance perfectly to curb the sweetness.
There was a bit of cream left over, and I hate wasting food, especially dessert ingredients, so, I whipped it up with a little sugar and vanilla extract, I piped it onto the tart and left gaps for some strawberries.
It was a hit! Not a crumb was left in sight, and even the Bozics scraped their plates clean.
This delightful creation was enjoyed by all.
The filling recipe was adapted from the Yummy Workshop website. As for the tart crust recipe, I’m not sure who to credit, but it’s incredible.
Helpful tips
The caramel
cook your caramel to a dark amber colour to give it the most flavour, but be sure to keep an eye on it as it can burn in a matter of seconds. There's a thin line between dark and burnt, I like to cook it just before it becomes bitter and unpalatable.
Chocolate ganache
Make chocolate ganache just when you are ready to fill, otherwise it might set too soon.
To salt or not to salt
I have a confession to make. I am not a salty dessert kinda girl so I cheated.
The recipe calls for a 1 g of sea salt to go into the caramel, but I left it out, instead I used the sea salt caramel dark chocolate (by Lindt) in the ganache but to be honest you can’t taste it. If you are a salted caramel type of person I would keep the 1g of salt in the caramel.
Blind baking
Is when you use baking weights/rice or dried chickpeas to help the pastry to stay buttery and keep it’s crunch and stops the crust from puffing up during baking.
Pricking pie crust
Pricking pie crust serves the same purpose as baking weights, it allows the steam to escape so the crust doesn’t puff up and remains buttery and crispy.
This recipe didn’t call for blind baking or to prick the crust, however, I chose to do it. I used both methods for the purpose of demonstration.
Sweet tooth
I have made 1 & ½ times the quantity of caramel on different occasions and I didn’t find it too sweet.
Step 1 Make the tart
step 2 make the caramel filling and chocolate ganache
Ingredients for the tart crust
For a 9inch tin (22cm )
1 &1/2 cups (187.5 g) All purpose flour
1/3 cup (40 g)Powdered sugar sifted
1/4 teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
1/2 cup (115.77 g) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Ingredients the Caramel
100g sugar
50g whipping cream, heated to lukewarm in microwave oven
80g unsalted butter, room temperature
1g fine sea salt (optional)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Ingredients for the Chocolate Ganache
100g good quality dark chocolate 73 % dark), roughly chopped
16g unsalted butter
7g honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
95g whipping cream
Method for tart crust:
Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse in the butter, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla, and process until the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.190C (I baked it on 180C in my oven)
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a thickness of about 1/8-inch, and press it gently into your tart pan, trimming away any excess.(or in my case, I used the trimming to patch up any cracks and uneven spots )
Bake the tart shell for 18 to 22 minutes, or until completely set and beginning to turn golden brown around the edges.
Method for Caramel
In a small saucepan, cook sugar to dark amber colour, swirling pan to caramelize evenly - try not to stir it.
Slowly add in whipping cream, be careful as the caramel is very hot and it will splatter slightly. Cook to 108C and take off heat.
Cool caramel for about 5 minutes, stir in butter, salt, and vanilla extract. Let cool until ready to use.
Assembly part 1
Pour caramel into tart crust let it cool down before transferring into the fridge for caramel to set. 10-15minutes
Method for Chocolate Ganache
Make chocolate ganache just when you are ready to fill, otherwise it might set too soon. Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.
Heat whipping cream in a microwave safe measuring cup for about 1-1.5 minutes, until it bubble slightly on the sides of the cup.
Pour hot cream into chocolate, avoid stirring right away and cover bowl with plastic wrap for about 1 minute. In the meantime, heat butter and honey until lukewarm in a small bowl, for about 30-40 seconds.
Stir ganache with a spatula from the center outwards, slowly incorporate the ingredients.
Lastly, stir in warmed butter/honey, and vanilla extract.
Finish assembling
Pour or spoon ganache on top of firm caramel. Wiggle tart gently to let the ganache level off.
Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. (optional)
Place in the fridge.
Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy
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