Salted Caramel Chocolate Tarts

The combination of chocolate and salted caramel is the ultimate blend of sweet and savory. I love the two together. I wanted to try making my standard tart crust, into a chocolate tart crust. It was pretty simple really – I just replaced some of the flour with cocoa powder, and it came out beautifully! Still buttery, and “cookie-like”, but CHOCOLATE! It’s the prefect base for the salted caramel, and chocolate ganache. Coarse sea salt finishes it off.

Start with the tart dough. This recipe will make 1 – 9″ tart shell, or 6 individual 4″ tart shells. Double to make more.

Ingredients:

1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 c all purpose flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
2/3 c confectioner’s sugar
1/4 tsp salt
8 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes

Whisk together the egg yolk, cream and vanilla. Set aside.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir together. Add cubed butter, and cut in with a pastry cutter, til you have a coarse mixture. Pour this into a stand mixer bowl, with a paddle attachment.

Pour the egg mixture over the flour mixture. Blend on med. using the paddle attachment, just til the dough comes together. Turn out onto a cutting board, and press together into a 6″ disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Now make the tart shells. Spray a tart pan with cooking spray. Remove the dough from refrigerator. Place on a floured surface, and roll out to a 12″ circle. Cut circles that will fit the size of your tart pan. I found the lid to my flour container was perfect for a 4″ tart! Cut as many circles as you can, then gather up the dough, and re-roll it to make more. Place the dough into each tart. They should be level with the top of the pan. Freeze for about 20 min.

Preheat oven to 350. Remove tart shells from the freezer. Place a piece of foil into each tart shell, then fill with dry beans or pie weights. This will not only keep the tart bottom flat, but will also keep the sides in place during the baking process.

Place tart pan on a cookie sheet, and bake for about 20 min. Remove the foil and beans/weights, and bake til lightly golden on edges, for another 5-7 min. Remove from oven, and cool completely. Remove each tart shell gently using a knife, and place on a cookie sheet.

Salted caramel recipe.

1 1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c water
1/2 c heavy cream
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Add cream, butter, salt and vanilla to a small bowl, and microwave just til butter is melted. Set aside.

Combine sugar and water in a heavy saucepan – stir just to combine. Over med heat, cook without stirring, until sugar is dissolved, and the mixture turns a caramel color – this may take 15 – 20 min. Cook using a candy thermometer to 325 degrees. DO NOT LEAVE THE POT UNATTENDED, as the temp will rise quickly and burn. The mixture will become a “caramel” color.

Remove from heat, and slowly add butter/cream mixture, while stirring constantly. This will cause a heavy boil, but stir constantly using a wooden spoon to blend. Return to med heat, and raise temperature to 240 degrees using a candy thermometer – this may take another 10 min. Once it reaches this temp – remove from heat.

Pour into tart shells, and refrigerate for at least 30 min.

Chocolate ganache topping recipe.

4 oz chopped semisweet chocolate
4 oz heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp light corn syrup (optional)

Add chocolate and heavy cream to a bowl, and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir til melted, and smooth. Add salt and corn syrup, stir together. Allow to thicken slightly as it cools.