Chocolate Nut Caramel Tart Food

CHOCOLATE-NUT CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°. Unroll pastry into a 9-in. fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Press onto bottom and up sides of pan; trim pastry even with edge (discard trimmed pastry or save for another use). Generously prick bottom of crust with a fork. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack., Reserve 2 tablespoons Nutella for topping; spread remaining Nutella into cooled crust. In a small saucepan, combine caramels and cream; cook over medium-low heat until blended, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in macadamia nuts. Spread evenly over Nutella., In a microwave, heat reserved Nutella until warmed; drizzle over filling. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. If desired, serve with whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Prepare chocolate dough: In bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, confectioners' sugar and cocoa. Beat until smooth. Add egg yolk and vanilla, and beat until blended.
• Sift flour into dough mixture. Beat on low speed until combined. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan. (You can use a 9-inch pan, but the crust will be thicker and the caramel may take longer to set in step 4.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line tart with foil, and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights, and bake until pastry is dry and set, another 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Prepare caramel filling: In a large saucepan, bring sugar, water and corn syrup to a boil. Stir or swirl the pan occasionally, until mixture is a medium amber color, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Caramel will continue to cook and darken off of the heat. Carefully but quickly whisk in the butter, cream, creme fraiche and salt until smooth (mixture will bubble up). Pour hot caramel into tart, and allow to cool and set, at least 1 hour.
• Prepare chocolate glaze: Place chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate and whisk until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Pour glaze over tart, tilting tart for even coverage. Refrigerate until tart is set, at least one hour, then sprinkle with a few granules of fleur de sel. Keep refrigerated until serving.

CARAMEL NUT TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Mix first 4 ingredients; press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 min. or until lightly browned. Cool.
• Microwave caramels, cream and coffee granules in large microwaveable bowl on MEDIUM (50%) 2 to 3 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Stir in nuts; spread onto bottom of crust.
• Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over tart. Refrigerate until firm.

CHOCOLATE, HAZELNUT & SALTED CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, whizz the hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour, icing sugar and butter, and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water, and pulse until the dough comes together. Tip the dough out and flatten into a disc, then wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. On a floured surface, roll out the pastry to line a 23cm loose-bottomed, deep tart tin. Trim the edges and prick the base with a fork, then line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for 20 mins, then carefully remove the baking beans and parchment and bake for a further 5-10 mins until light golden. Allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, make the salted caramel. Tip the sugar into a small pan, add 1-2 tbsp water and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Increase the heat and cook until the sugar turns to an ambercoloured caramel. Reduce the heat and add the butter, cream and golden syrup, and stir until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and add the salt. Allow to cool for a few mins, then spread onto the tart base. Scatter with chopped hazelnuts and set aside.
• For the chocolate filling, melt the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk and caster sugar for about 6 mins until thick and pale. Fold in the melted chocolate and cocoa, then pour into the tart case. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 mins or until set and the top has formed a crust. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving in slices.

CARAMEL NUT TART

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in cream cheese and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. , Roll out dough into a 10-in. circle. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. fluted tart pan with a removable bottom; trim edges., Line unpricked crust with a double layer of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes. Remove foil; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 400°., For filling, in a small heavy saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in nuts and vanilla. Spread into crust. , Place tart pan on a baking sheet. Bake until bubbly, for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

WHITE CHOCOLATE & MACADAMIA TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to moderately slow, 160°C, and lightly grease a 23cm springform flan pan.
• Place flour, butter, nuts and icing sugar in a food processor and process until well-combined, add egg yolks and water and process until the ingredients just come together.
• Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead gently, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper, ease into prepared pan, trim the edges and chill for 10 minutes.
• Bake blind (see Note below) for 15 minutes, remove paper and filling, and bake for another 10 minutes.
• FILLING: Melt 250g chocolate in a small saucepan over a low heat; in a small bowl, using an electric beater, beat the egg yolks, eggs and caster sugar until the mixture is thick and creamy; stir in the cream, vanilla extract and melted chocolate.
• Sprinkle the pastry base with macadamia nuts, pour the chocolate mixture into the pastry case; bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is set.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Serve the tart, drizzled with the remaining melted white chocolate.
• NOTE: To blind bake, put rice, dried beans or pastry weights in the pastry shell, then bake as directed.

CARAMEL NUT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Between 2 sheets of wax paper roll out dough into a 14-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Transfer dough to a baking sheet and chill 10 minutes. Lift top sheet of wax paper from dough and gently replace on top (this will facilitate removal of paper later). Flip dough over, discarding wax paper now on top, and carefully invert dough into an 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim. Lightly press dough up side of rim, using pieces from overhang to patch any holes. Chill shell 30 minutes, or until firm.
• Line shell with foil, folding over edge to cover pastry entirely, and fill with pie weights or raw rice. Bake shell on a baking sheet in middle of oven 35 minutes and carefully remove foil and weights or rice. If bottom of crust still has patches of translucent undercooked dough, return shell to oven without foil and weights or rice and bake until pastry is completely cooked and golden, 3 to 5 minutes more. Cool shell in pan on a rack.
• Reduce temperature to 350°F.
• Coarsely chop nuts. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and honey, stirring, and simmer 1 minute. Stir in nuts and cream. Simmer mixture 1 minute and pour into shell. Bake tart on baking sheet in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until filling is a few shades darker. Cool tart in pan on rack.
• Chop chocolate and in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. Cool chocolate slightly and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a #3 plain tip (slightly smaller than 1/8 inch). (Alternatively, transfer chocolate to a small heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Squeeze chocolate into one corner of bag and with scissors cut a tiny slice off corner to form a small hole.) Pipe thin lines of chocolate over tart in a back and forth motion to form stripes. Tart may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• Serve caramel tart chilled or at room temperature with ice cream and tuiles.

CARAMEL-NUT TART WITH MILK CHOCOLATE AND COGNAC CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Line the tart pan with the pâte sucrée according to page 196. Prick the bottom with a fork and line it with a few open and fanned out coffee filters or a piece of parchment paper. Fill the lined tart shell with beans or pie weights, and bake 15 minutes, until set. Take the tart out of the oven, and carefully lift out the paper and beans. Return the tart to the oven, and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is an even golden brown. Set the tart on a rack to cool completely.
• Spread the nuts on a baking sheet (keep each type separate) and toast 8 to 12 minutes, until they're golden brown and smell nutty. Some will toast more quickly than others, so watch them carefully and remove the toasted nuts as needed.
• Place the sugar and 1 cup water in a very clean medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan. Over medium-high heat, cook the sugar, shaking the pan often to stir-don't use a utensil to stir, as it could cause the sugar to crystallize. Continue cooking and swirling the pan until the caramel is a deep golden brown, just beyond the soft-crack stage (about 310°F on a candy thermometer). It should be a nice dark color, but not burned.
• Remove from the heat, and slowly whisk in 2/3 cup cream, stirring with the whisk the entire time, until the caramel is smooth and the cream is fully incorporated. (Be aware that the caramel will foam up as you add the cream. It's very hot, so be careful and pour slowly.) Allow to cool a few minutes. Place the nuts and honey in a bowl. Pour the caramel over them, and stir to combine well. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pour the mixture into the baked tart shell, to just below the rim. It's important not to overfill the crust. Refrigerate the tart at least 2 hours.
• Melt the milk chocolate in a small saucepan over very low heat, and stir in 1/3 cup water. Just before serving, whip 1 cup cream and the cognac to soft peaks in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
• Slice the tart in half, and cut one half into twelve thin slices. Refrigerate the rest for leftover snacking. Place one slice at the center of each of six plates. Prop up a second slice on top of the first, setting it at an angle and letting the pointed end of the slice rest on the plate. Continue with the remaining slices. Garnish each with three dollops of the cognac cream, and drizzle the milk chocolate across the tart.
• Note
• The tricky part to this dessert is making the caramel filling. If it cooks too long, it will taste bitter; and if it doesn't cook long enough, it won't achieve that chewy consistency.