Our first guest cook, aka cousin Lindsey, joined me in the kitchen this week with one request – chocolate! After flipping through a few magazines and scanning my favorite blogs, we saw this Chocolate Caramel Tart on Lottie + Doof and decided we just had to make it. I mean come on, look at those pictures!
To be honest, the idea of making caramel scared me a bit, but it’s not as difficult as you might think. Much easier than making marshmallows. And in the interest of transparency, I purchased a chocolate pie crust since we were pinched for time – don’t judge.
Caramel Filling:
1/2 cup hot water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 tbs (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tbs crème fraîche
Place water, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it becomes dark amber in color (if you’re using a candy thermometer, bring to 350°F).
Remove pan from heat and very carefully add heavy cream (the mixture will bubble and may even splatter). Once incorporated, add the butter and crème fraîche and stir until smooth. Pour caramel filling into pie crust and allow to set, first at room temperature (10-20 minutes) and then in the refrigerator (at least 30 minutes).
Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 oz extra bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used chocolate chips)
Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Meanwhile, bring cream to a boil in a small sauce pan. Pour hot cream over the chocolate and leave for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth. Spread ganache over the tart and return to the fridge until set.
Remove tart from the refrigerator 5-10 minutes before serving. Cut into slices and sprinkle each with sea salt. Enjoy!
This tart is delicious, though a bit on the sweet side – I gulped down an entire glass of milk within the first few bites. Next time, I would like to spread a layer of toasted walnuts in the bottom of pie crust before pouring the caramel filling in. A little extra crunch and extra depth would really put this dessert over the edge. Plus I love the idea of a Turtle Tart! So, what did you think of the tart?
Baked in Ballard 