Chocolate Caramel Tart

With Thanksgiving just a couple days away, I thought it was the perfect time to share a new dessert recipe that would be *amazing* for your holiday dinner table. A Chocolate + Caramel Tart, topped with sea salt. Swoon! I bookmarked this recipe a while ago, but was waiting for the right occasion to make such a decadent, over-the-top dessert. Conveniently, a fab group of food bloggers and I had our monthly supper club last weekend, and the menu was cozy comfort food – homemade pierogies with all the fixins. The combination of chocolate + caramel is wonderfully comforting to me, so I knew that the supper club would be the perfect occasion to make + share this tart for dessert.

And y’all, the results? Holy moly, this is one fabulous dessert. It starts with a flaky, buttery, chocolate crust. Then, it’s topped with an ooey, gooey sweet homemade caramel layer. Then, a layer of super-rich chocolate ganache, sprinkled with wonderfully-addictive sea salt. Everything combined is scrumptious – rich, delicious, + indulgent. While it’s pretty simple, skill-wise, to make, it does takes a bit of time, as some of the layers need a few hours to set before you can proceed to the next layer. So, start it a day ahead so you have ample time to complete it. I hope lots of you try this for your upcoming holiday dinners — I know you + your families will love it!

Chocolate Caramel Tart

serves 8, adapted from Saveur

Ingredients

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 fraiche

FOR THE GANACHE:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Gray sea salt for garnish

Directions

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 340°. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (be careful – 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; 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 immediately before serving, slice, and serve chilled. (Note: the sea salt will dissolve on the ganache after about 30 minutes, so *do* wait until immediately before serving to sprinkle it on top!)

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