Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Caramel Tart
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!
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
* Once the crust is set — and you’ll know this because the edges will turn golden — you remove the weights and let the crust cook a little longer on its own. For a partially baked crust, you want the bottom to look dry and flaky, but still pale. For a fully baked crust, look for the bottom to turn light golden. The whole process won’t take more than 15 or 20 minutes.