There’s lots to love about this eggless recipe from Foodhall Cookery Studio (FCS), featuring a few of our very favourite things – dark chocolate, sea salt and caramel! It doesn’t require very many ingredients either – just flour, salt, butter, sugar, cream and dark chocolate.
FCS’ ingenious trick is to bring in an element of blind baking – partially (or sometimes completely), baking the pie crust before adding in the filling.
You might wonder why we don’t just throw the crust in the oven as it is. The answer is that as the crust bakes, pockets of steam cause the layers of pastry to puff up – very unhelpful when one’s ultimate goal is to fill the pie with something else! The sides of the crust will also to sag before they start to crisp, leaving us with a not-so-attractive slouching effect.
The solution is to line the unbaked pie crust with parchment or aluminium foil and weigh it down with something so that the bottom doesn’t puff and the sides don’t slouch. You can find special pie weights for this job, or you can also just use dry beans (any beans or legumes like chickpeas , red kidney beans!).
The simple hack is just one of the many hands-on techniques taught by the state-of-the-art cookery studio at Foodhall@LinkingRoad, with their globe-trotting selection of classes curated to ensure that bakers & budding chefs fine-tune their art beyond just following standard text-book recipes! Follow them on Instagram for more tips and tricks, as well as to discover their upcoming modules.
Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Caramel Tart
Ingredients
For The Shortcrust Pastry
- 100 gm Flour
- A pinch Salt
- 55 gm Cold Butter (cut into small pieces)
- 1-2 tbsp Cold Water
For The Salted Caramel
- 150 gm Caster Sugar
- 64 gm Unsalted Butter
- 90 gm Cream
- As per taste, Sea Salt
For The Ganache
- 100 gm Dark Chocolate
- 100 gm Cream
Instructions
For The Shortcrust Pastry
- Using the rubbing method / slowest speed on a stand mixer, mix the flour, salt and butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the cold water little at a time, mixing briefly till a dough forms. Do not over-mix.
- Chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling out.
- Once rolled, line your pie tin and refrigerate for 10 mins. Place baking beans inside the tart and bake in a 170 degree preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the pastry starts to brown on the edges. Remove the beans and bake till the pastry is golden brown.*
For The Salted Caramel
- Place half the amount of the sugar in an even layer in a saucepan. On medium heat, start cooking the sugar. If required, briefly mix / swirl the sugar to help it along. Once melted, add the remaining sugar little by little, to ensure that it all melts before the sugar starts to caramelize.
- Once the sugar starts caramelising, bring it to a dark amber colour, remove it from the heat, and stir in the butter. The sugar will bubble up, don’t be alarmed.
- Once incorporated, add in the warmed cream and stir to combine. Add sea salt to taste and stir.
- If you find any clumps of sugar, return to a low heat and stir till dissolved.
- Pass the caramel through a sieve if there are still lumps. Transfer into a bowl and allow to cool.
- Spread some of the salted caramel onto the base of the tarts.
For The Ganache
- To make the ganache, melt the chocolate in the microwave. Heat the cream in a saucepan till it is steaming. Pour into the chocolate and emulsify.
For assembling the tarts
- While still warm, pour the ganache into the tarts, almost all the way to the top.
- Refrigerate till the ganache sets. Sprinkle with sea salt and garnish as desired.
Notes
About Foodhall Cookery Studio:
Tucked away at the top of Foodhall@Linking Road, Foodhall Cookery Studio (FCS) is an experimental kitchen and a contemporary venue for cooking classes and workshops. Since the lockdown, FCS have started hosting virtual cook-alongs via Zoom. Discover their globe-trotting line-up of upcoming classes here. | Instagram @FoodhallCookeryStudio
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This was such a easy and amazing recipe to follow! Though it was my first time making short rust pastry it turned out absolutely perfect. Crumbly pastry and sinful chocolate and caramel flavours make this tart an absolute favourite and irresistible!
It’s such a wonderful combination isn’t it! So delighted to hear it turned out well for you 🙂
Easy to follow and detailed instructions makes this recipe a go-to recipe especially if you are baking tarts for the first time!! The tarts were delicious and the pastry was perfect. Will definitely make this again and would recommend it to all those who want to make tarts!
So delighted to hear your feedback, thank you!
Hi… I am planning to bake this pastry for first time… I dnt have a stand mixer can I use hand or blender???
You can use your fingers to rub it together , it will just take a bit longer
I tried this recipe and it turned out absolutely delicious! Would definitely recommend this recipe to everyone as it’s super easy to make and is beginner friendly!
This was one of the first recipes I tried too Ally! Foodhall Cookery Studio are marvellous for baking classes and the like, do check out their schedule for more inspiration 🙂