Chocolate Caramel Tart
This was amazing… Just amazing. I absolutely loved this tart - perfect.
I don’t know what the best part of this tart is. Was it the crust - soft, hard, and crumbly all at the same time. Chocolaty enough yet not too sweet for the caramel. Was it the caramel - just the perfect consistency, sweetness, and color. Was it the chocolate ganache - smooth, velvety and rich. Or yet was it the grey sea salt - the perfect balance to an otherwise overly rich treat. Perhaps it was the collaborative effort of all four groups, individually strong and defining, yet complete when combined. Oh, I loved this desert! And please do not skimp on the grey sea salt. It absolutely completes the dish.
Please note: I cooked the caramel to more like a sugary syrup thing but not a “caramel”. You will need to get it to 360 - 365°, but be sure to do it over a slower amount of time and watch it… use your judgement.
Chocolate Caramel Tart
When making this dessert (from Brooklyn’s Marlow & Sons), Saveur found that darker, dutch-process cocoa powder makes for a more flavorful, cookie-like crust. (So did I… delicious)
FOR THE CRUST:
1 1⁄2 cups flour
1⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp. dutch-process unsweetened
cocoa powder
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
FOR THE CARAMEL
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
3 tbsp. light corn syrup
1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 tbsp. heavy cream
1 tbsp. crème fraîche
FOR THE GANACHE
1/2 tbls unsalted butter
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Gray sea salt for garnish
1. Make the crust: Heat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Transfer dough to a 9″ fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.
2. Make the caramel: In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 365°. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.
3. Make the ganache: Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream and add 1/2 tbls unsalted butter (will lend to a smooth and shiney texture); let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth. (Don’t be suprised if all of the chocolate doesn’t melt smoothly and you are left with some chunks. Simply put in microwave for 15 seconds and then stir, or put over double boiler and stir. Just be careful not to burn ganache.) Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours.
Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled. Keep cold in the refrigerator, but I would recommend taking it out 30 minutes before serving to allow the caramel to soften a bit.
On the sea salt: Of the five people who ate this tart, 4 loved the sea salt and all agreed that it finished the dish. One person just truly disliked the sea salt and wiped it off of his tart. For the most part, I think this dish can’t exist without the sea salt, but know your audience. It’s most likely best to add the salt to each slice, not the entire tart.
This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #119
Lovely pictures!
Thanks so much Nina, I love your pics too!
I am so glad I saw this. Friends were raving about this tart the other day and I was considering making it this weekend. I’m pretty sure they made the temp correction without thinking and forgot to mention it to me.
Definitely give it a try. It was so delicious. Just remember, you make it in three batches so plan ahead for time. Let me know what you think of the finished product!
Oh my. I saw this on the cover of my Saveur issue this month and am just waiting, waiting for the occasion to make it. Looks even more amazing now that I see the step-by-step!
Let me know how it goes… And if you can’t find an occasion… make it anyhow and give slices to neighbors, friends, co-workers… it probably won’t be hard to find someone to take some of it off your hands
Looks fabulous! And thanks for passing along the corrections!
~ingrid
kosher salt? Whats the difference between kosher salt and normal salt??
Hi Cinghiz, this recipe calls for grey sea salt, not kosher salt. There are differences between the salts. Sea salt tends to be more aromatic and not as harsh as regular iodized salt. Even kosher salt too has a less abrasive taste to it, more subtle. Hope this helps. You should try different salts on their own… you’ll taste the difference. Hope this helped. Thanks for writing!
Thanks Ingrid!
265 is way too low. You can’t caramelize at that temperature, you’ll just make buttery sugary goo. 365 is really a good end point for caramelizing, however as a final temp for the rewarm i think you’re right on.
Thanks so much for your feedback Adam. I am really confused on this topic, as I have heard differences in opinion on this. Hmmm?
sorry, normally I would never drop a note like that on someone’s blog. In order to caramelize sugar you HAVE to get to a hotter temperature. It’s a chemical impossibility, but that’s not to say that cooking sugar to the temperature you gave and adding the butter and cream won’t create a good confection… it just won’t be caramel. However, giving a specific temperature for the caramel, like Saveur did, is just as faulty because it doesn’t take into consideration how long it took to get there. the best advice is to just watch very carefully once it starts to color and to trust your senses. Then after adding the butter/cream, take it to the specific temperature you gave. If I were at home I’d give you a page number from McGee’s “On Food and Cooking” to show I’m not making this stuff up. I’m glad you made this, because I noticed it at the bookstore yesterday and was interested. For the ganache, I noticed you changed the amount of butter. What did you change it from? was it 1/2 cup? I seem to remember thinking there was a huge amount.
Adam… No, I am so happy you dropped that note. This site for me is all about learning and experiences. And while I am starting formal culinary school in a week, pastry learning will be a minimum. It is through this site/experience that I am becoming a better cook. Thank you so much for your advice and help… caramels and sugars are not something I am a pro in and your help is much appreciated.
I have to say I really enjoyed the way the tart turned out, as well as the others that had it, but next go-around, I will follow your lead and try to get it to 365 without burning. I was scared of it becoming a hard candy… and I really enjoyed the flavor of mine… but will definitely try it your way.
As per the butter, the original recipe didn’t call for any butter… I added it myself because I thought it was needed… the end result was creamy and tasty.
That chocolate and caramel tart looks so good!