Since I began this blog in April of 2014 I have learned so much about baking. I’ve also learned a lot about my taste preferences, and my taste buds scream for caramel, chocolate and salt. Gesine Bullock-Prado’s Chocolate fleur de sel caramel tart from Pie It Forward checks off all of my flavor cravings. The chocolate crust is crunchy in texture with a lovely mocha flavor. The filling has a salty and deep caramel taste which is softened by vanilla. The piece de resistance, however, are the chocolate truffles. They are soft in texture and big in chocolate flavor–a perfect last bite to a perfect tart. Well… almost perfect. I made this tart 3 times and each time it didn’t hold up well after being cut into. This yummy caramel filling oozed off of the crust and onto my plate every dang time. Sure, I licked it clean and yes it was completely delicious, but it did not make for a pretty photo. Where did I go wrong? How can I make the filling more stable? Still, chocolate fleur de sel caramel tart is going in my favorites folder. And in my failures folder. Gotta keep it real.
Okay, here’s how it’s done… first you make a chocolate crust. In a food processor, pulse together flour, cocoa, salt, coffee, sweetened condensed milk, and an egg.
Press the dough into a tart pan, freeze for 20 minutes, and then blind bake in the oven.
Once the crust has cooled get on with the caramel. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook sugar, water, and cornstarch together until it reaches 300 degrees F. Remove from heat and carefully stir in heavy cream, vanilla bean paste, and softened butter. If you have never made caramel before check out my caramel post here.
Pour the caramel into the cooled crust and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. When ready to serve, sprinkle sea salt flakes over top, and dot the perimeter with chocolate truffles. You can find the recipe for the truffles here. Enjoy!
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 TBS Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 TBS Brewed Coffee
- ¾ cup (92.5 g) All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup (20 g) Cocoa Powder
- 1/3 cup (75 g) Sugar
- ½ TBS Instant Espresso Powder
- ½ tsp. Salt
- 1/3 cup (90 g) Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
- 1 cup (200 g) Sugar
- ¼ cup Corn Syrup
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1/3 cup Water
- 2 TBS (28 g) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup Heavy Cream, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste
- ½ tsp. Sea Salt Flakes
- Chocolate Truffles
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, sweetened condensed milk, and brewed coffee. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, sugar, espresso powder, and salt. Place the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
- When ready, dump the flour mixture into a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the butter pieces, and pulse until it resembles cornmeal. Add the wet ingredients and pulse 7 times, or until the dough just comes together when pinched. Wrap the dough up in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or as long as 3 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Press the dough into an 8-inch tart pan. Dock the dough and then freeze for 20 minutes. Place the tart on a cookie sheet, put a piece of parchment over the dough and fill with pie weights. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough no longer appears wet. Remove the pie weights and parchment and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the tart crust from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
- Put the sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes. Remove lid, and brush the inside of the saucepan with water using a pastry brush. This will help remove any sugar crystals. At this point, do not stir the sugar mixture.
- Monitor the temperature using a candy thermometer. When the temperature reaches 300 degrees F. remove saucepan from the heat. Pour in the cream and add the butter. The mixture will bubble up so be careful! Stir the caramel until the butter has completely melted. Add the vanilla bean paste and stir.
- Pour the caramel into the cooled crust, and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
- Sprinkle the sea salt flakes all over the caramel. Place the truffles around the perimeter of the tart.
- Food processor
- Plastic wrap
- 8-inch tart pan
- Pie weights
- Parchment paper
- Cookie sheet
- Wire rack
- Saucepan with lid
- Pastry brush
- Candy thermometer
