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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart


I had a great story to tell you about these tarts involving me and my sister in Paris, a scrumptious round of Camembert grillé and a crunchy baguette, a long walk on foot from my sister's tiny apartment at rue Miollis (15ème arrondissement) to rue Cail (10ème), samosas at Krishna and shopping spices at Ganesha, then on our way back dropping ourselves in a small local pastry shop (not as trendy as Hermé or Aoki, but with it's own charm) for these little salted caramel life boosters and a looong walk on foot (again) to rue Cler(7ème) for a late Friday night Mojito with friends. Yup, comfy shoes on our feet and large smiles on our faces – this is all we needed not to care about the rain nor the cool winter wind.


But the cursor was blinking nasty on the white page and although my head was full of stories, nothing was coming out of my fingers on the keyboard. After a week the page was still white and the cursor was still blinking as if laughing at me.

I like food related stories and memories. But this block went on too long and since obviously I've sank in a deep writer's whiteness and there is no story coming out of me, I'll be happy to hear your salted caramel stories.



Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart
Recipe:
Adapted from Vanilla Garlic
Makes 6 small 8-cm tarts or one big 22-cm tart

For the Crust:
  • 110 gr butter, softened;
  • 100 gr sugar;
  • 1 large egg yolk;
  • 130 gr all purpose flour;
  • 30 gr dutch processed cocoa powder.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg yolk. Combine the flour and cocoa powder and add them to the butter mixture. Mix in until it just comes together. Roll out the dough or form it just pressing it with your fingers into 6 8-cm rings laid down on a paper lined baking tray. Fridge the tarts shells for an hour to set. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180º C. Prick the tart shells all over with a fork and blind bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

For the Caramel:
  • 125 ml water;
  • 400 gr granulated sugar;
  • 60 gr glucose;
  • 125 ml heavy cream;
  • 110 gr butter (if using salted butter skip the salt below);
  • 15 gr flaked sea salt.
In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, glucose and the water and bring to a boil. Salt can be added at this initial step (skip if using salted butter), but I prefer to add it at the end in order to preserve the salt crystals. Cook without stirring until amber colour, if using a candy thermometer it should reach 180º C . Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the butter and the cream until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shells and refrigerate until firm, around 4 hours.

For the Ganache:
  • 120 gr heavy cream;
  • 120 gr high quality dark chocolate (we used Cacao Barry's Tanzanie);
  • Sea salt or kosher salt for garnish
Bring the cream to a simmer. Then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Wait for a minute, then stir to obtain a smooth ganache. Pour the ganache evenly over the tarts and refrigerate for further 4 hour. Before serving sprinkle with sea salt, but not before as it will melt away.

Tip: If you have any caramel left, wait till it hardens, then tear small pieces of it and dip them in dark chocolate.


25 comments:

  1. These look beautiful and are going on my list of things to try.

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  2. Wow, this is seriously decadent! Great combinations, thanks.

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  3. those look kind of perfect. i have a recipe in my arsenal for something like this. thanks for reminding me!

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  4. Wow, these look amazing. Fab photos too, I love the one with the caramel oozing out!

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  5. These look to die for!! I need these in my life! Yum!!

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  6. Your caramel looks perfectly gooey and oozy!
    Good luck with your writers block, I'm sure it will clear soon! I certainly have some recipes that i made forever ago, but i can't seem to write about them, so i just move on hoping that in the future i'll figure it out. The distant future.
    Until then, these look like a great pick-me-up!

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  7. These look AMAZING! My husband loves caramel and he will be in love...thanks!

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  8. OMG i just LOVE them. really. I have a sugar rush at the moment:)) Must find a snickers or somethin:)))

    Greets from BFC !!!

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  9. Hi! That tart looks so delicious! Love the oozing caramel!

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  10. salted caramel. YES PLEASE!

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  11. Oh my, this is soooo mouthwatering!!

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  12. wow, incredible pictures again! these look amazing!

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  13. I'll take one of those for dinner! If I'm still hungry after a salad would be fine lol.

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  14. So gorgeous! Wonderful blog--thanks for sharing!

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  15. Oh my... these look AMAZING.

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  16. One of my favourite sweets as a child was a Rolo - do you know them. This made me think of a delicious adult version of a Rolo but in tart form oozing caramel. I have no experience of salted caramel so no stories to share....just ones about British confectionary!

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  17. I LOVE caramel! I'm gonna have to make these!

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  18. I made this tart for a pre-Thanksgiving party and it was a huge hit. People who don't normally like chocolate liked this tart. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. Your photos are lovely as well.

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  19. @ Eva, Thank you very much for this feedback! I'm really glad your guests liked it:)

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  20. someone please tell me how to convert this recipe to us measurements????

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    1. Just follow the given link from where we have adapted it - Vanilla Garlic's site - http://www.vanillagarlic.com/2010/03/queen-of-hearts-and-chocolate-caramel.html

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    2. U.S. adapted mesurements:

      FOR THE CRUST:
      1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
      1/2 cup of sugar
      1 large egg yolk
      1 cup all-purpose flour
      2 1/2 tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa powder

      FOR THE CARAMEL
      1/2 cup water
      2 cups granulated sugar
      1/4 cup light corn syrup
      1/2 cup heavy cream
      8 tablespoons of salted butter
      2 tablespoons sour cream

      FOR THE GANACHE
      1/2 cup heavy cream
      4 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
      Sea salt or kosher salt for garnish

      1. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and mix on medium for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add the egg yolk and beat well.

      2. In another bowl whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. Add to the butter mixture all at once. Then mix in at lowest speed until it just comes together (it will have small and medium clumps). Any more and it will become sticky and difficult to work with.

      3. Scrape dough into tart pan. Press into the bottom of the tart and outward using the heel of your palm. Use your fingers to pull the tart up the edge. Chill for an hour in the fridge. Reserve a little bit of dough to patch the shell later if necessary.

      4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake tart shell for 15 minutes. Check to see if the dough has cracked, if so patch it with the reserved dough. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on it to ensure it doesn't burn. Cool on wire rack.

      5. Make the caramel: In a saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, and water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat until a medium-dark amber color, swirling occasionally. Take off heat and add the cream, butter, and sour cream. Stir together until smooth. Pour into cooled tart shell and let cool to room temperature, then place in the fridge to chill and set.

      6. 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; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours. Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.

      SERVES 8-10

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  21. I found these lovelies on pinterest. So happy to have found your blog and am now your newest follower. when you have a chance come by and check out my blog www.questfordelish.blogspot.com

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