Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart Food

SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE TORTE

Steps:

• Line the base of a deep, round 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with a circle of baking parchment. Line the sides with one long strip that comes just above the sides of the tin - staple or paper clip where the strip overlaps to hold it in place.
• Crush the biscuits in a plastic bag or bowl with the end of a rolling pin. Stir into the melted butter, then evenly press into the bottom of the tin. Chill for 10 mins.
• Reserve 2 tbsp of the caramel. Stir the sea salt into the remainder and spoon into the centre of the biscuit base. Gently spread so the base is evenly covered but a visible 1-2cm border of biscuit remains around the edge. Chill for 20 mins while you make the chocolate layer.
• Gently melt the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir 1 tbsp of the cream into the reserved caramel, then cover and chill until ready to decorate. Once the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat but leave the bowl where it is, and gradually stir in the remaining cream until you have a smooth, shiny, thick chocolate sauce. Sift in the icing sugar and stir in with the vanilla extract. Lift off the heat and let the mixture cool for 10 mins.
• Ladle or pour the chocolate mixture around the edge of the torte first, so it fills the biscuit border, sealing the caramel in the centre. Then ladle or pour in the rest and gently shake to smooth the surface. Chill for at least 5 hrs or up to 24 hours until firm.
• Remove the torte from the tin, then carefully peel off the strip of paper and transfer to a serving plate. Dot the chocolates on top. Spoon the reserved caramel-cream mixture into a small food or freezer bag. Snip off the tiniest tip of the corner to make a very small opening, then squiggle lines of caramel over the top. Chill until ready to serve. Scatter with a pinch or two of sea salt before serving, then thinly slice. Eat with a drizzle of single cream, if you like.

SALTED CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160C/320F. Grease and line the base only of a 23cm / 9" tart tin with a loose base. (Or a springform pan of a similar size)
• Roughly break up biscuits and place in a food processor, then whizz until fine crumbs form. Or do this step with a ziplock bag and rolling pin.
• Pour crumbs into a bowl, add melted butter, mix until it looks like wet sand and no dry crumbs remain. Pour into tin, then press firmly into base and sides - use something flat like a cup to assist (refer to video).
• Transfer to tray (safe handling), place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, then remove and cool slightly (5 minutes in fridge).

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.

SALTED CHOCOLATE CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Place the butter and sugar in a food processor and process until pale. Add the cocoa, flour, egg and vanilla and process to a smooth dough. Press into the base and sides of a 26cm loose-bottomed, fluted tart tin to 5mm thick. Trim the edges and refrigerate until firm. Prick the dough with a fork and bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is cooked. Set aside.
• To make the filling, place the cream and butter in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Set aside. Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to high and boil, without stirring, until dark golden and the mixture reaches 170°C (340°F) on a sugar thermometer. Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream mixture. Return the pan to low heat and stir for 5 minutes or until thickened. Pour into the pastry shell and refrigerate until firm.
• To make the glaze, place the cream in a saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Pour the chocolate over the caramel and refrigerate until firm. Sprinkle with salt and cut into wedges to serve.

SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE GANACHE TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust, whisk to combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; set aside.
• In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until combined. Little by little, add the dry ingredients until incorporated. The dough may look crumbly, but it should come together easily when you pinch the dough between two fingers.
• Press the dough out into a tart pan. Prick all over with a fork and put into the freezer for 10 minutes. Bake chilled crust for 15 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the caramel, place the sugar, corn syrup and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Stir to combine, but onces the mixture begins to bubble stop stirring for the remainder of the cooking process. The sugar will first turn clear, then it will noticeably start bubbling and eventually take on color. Continue to cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340°, stir in the butter. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully (watch the sputtering) add the heavy cream and vanilla. Pour the caramel into the cooled crust and refrigerate for about 3-4 hours or until set.
• To make the chocolate ganache, heat the heavy cream to a simmer, then pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 60 seconds, then stir until smooth. Pour the chocolate ganache over the caramel tart and refrigerate for a few hours until set.
• To serve, cut into slices and garnish with sea salt.

SALTED CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• For the base, snap the biscuits into pieces and drop them into the bowl of a food processor. Do likewise with the chocolate, then blitz them together until you have crumbs. Add the butter and salt, and blitz again until the mixture starts to clump together. If you're doing this by hand, bash the biscuits in a freezer bag until they form crumbs, finely chop the chocolate and melt the butter, then mix everything, along with the salt, in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or your hands encased in disposable vinyl gloves.
• Press into your tart tin and pat down on the bottom and up the sides of the tin with your hands or the back of a spoon, so that the base and sides are evenly lined and smooth. Put into the fridge to harden for at least 1 hour, or 2 hours if your fridge is stacked. I wouldn't keep it for longer than a day like this as the crust tends to get too crumbly.
• For the filling, finely chop the chocolate. Put the cornflour into a cup and whisk in the milk until smooth. (I find it easier to use cups for the liquids - in which case the milk measure is equivalent to an American quarter cup, and you'll need 2 cups of cream.)
• Pour the cream into a heavy-based saucepan into which all the ingredients can fit and be stirred without splashing out of the pan, then add the finely chopped rubble of chocolate, the sieved cocoa (or just sieve it straight in), espresso or instant coffee powder, sugar, vanilla paste or extract, olive oil and smoked salt. Place over a medium to low heat and whisk gently - I use a very small whisk for this, as I'm not aiming to get air in the mixture, I'm just trying to banish any lumpiness - as the cream heats and the chocolate starts melting.
• Off the heat, whisk in the cornflour and milk mixture until it, too, is smoothly incorporated, and put the pan back on a low heat. With a wooden spoon, keep stirring until the mixture thickens, which it will do around the 10-minute mark, but be prepared for it to take a few minutes more or less. Take the pan off the heat every so often, still stirring, so that everything melds together, without the cream coming to a boil. When ready, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, and if you run your finger through it (across the back of the spoon) the line should stay.
• Pour into a wide measuring jug or batter jug (it should come to about the 600ml/1 pint mark). Now run a piece of baking parchment or greaseproof paper under the cold tap, wring it out and place the damp, crumpled piece right on top of the chocolate mixture, then put the jug into the fridge for 15 minutes. The mixture will still be warm, but will be the right temperature to ooze into the base without melting it.
• Pour and scrape the mixture into the biscuit-lined flan tin and put back in the fridge overnight. Don't leave it longer than 24 hours, as the base will start to soften.
• Take out of the fridge for 10 minutes before serving, but unmould straight away. Sit the flan tin on top of a large tin or jar and let the ring part fall away, then transfer the dramatically revealed tart to a plate or board. Leave the tin base on.
• Slice modestly - this is rich and sweet, and people can always come back for more - and serve with crème fraîche; the sharpness is just right here. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days, but the base will soften and the sides crumble a bit. That will not detract from your eating pleasure too much, but I still like to give it its first outing at optimal stage!

SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE TART WITH CANDIED PEANUTS

Steps:

• Add graham crackers, sugar, and pinch of salt to a food processors and pulse until crumbly. Slowly add butter and vanilla extract and continue to pulse until texture resembles wet sand. Add to a tart pan and press against the sides and bottom, ensuring crust is evenly distributed throughout the pan. Place in the freezer.
• Add sugar to a large sauce pan over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has melted. Reduce heat to low and add butter. Stir until melted and then add heavy cream. Caramel will break apart but whisk continuously. If needed, increase heat to medium until mixture comes back together and is smooth then remove from heat.
• Add salt and peanuts and fold together. Allow caramel to cool for about 10-15 minutes then pour on top of graham cracker crust and place back into the freezer.
• Make the chocolate ganache layer by adding heavy cream to a sauce pan over low heat. Do not boil. Warm for about 2-3 minutes, then add dark chocolate chips. Whisk together until chocolate has melted and remove from the heat. Pour on top of the caramel layer and place into the refrigerator. Allow tart to set for 2-3 hours.
• Optional step: To make the meringue, use a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment and add egg whites. Beat on medium until eggs become frothy/bubbly, then add sugar very very slowly until stiff peaks form. Continue whisking and add vanilla extract and cream of tartar or white vinegar. Place into a piping bag and pipe on top of tart.
• Chop up peanuts and garnish on top of the tart.