Dark Chocolate Caramel Tart

“I love chocolate covered pretzels, says Scott Snyder, executive chef of and partner at Boulevard Five72 in Kenilworth. “I like the combination of salt, chocolate, and caramel—as does my six-year-old son, Colin. He will eat as much as he can of this dessert.”

Photo by David Michael Howarth.

“High quality chocolate is all important, Snyder adds. “I use 74% cocoa berry–the higher the cocoa percentage the better the chocolate will be. The chocolate should melt in your mouth. We use a basic 1-2-3 cookie dough. It’s called 1-2-3 because of the ratio of flour, fat, and sugar–one part sugar, two parts fat, and three parts flour or the specific proportions you see in this recipe. It’s also easy as 1-2-3!

Dark Chocolate Caramel Tart | Fleur de Sel

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Chocolate Ganache
2 cups Heavy Cream
14 oz. Dark Chocolate
5 oz. Light Corn Syrup
4 oz. Butter

Caramel filling:
2 ½ cups Sugar
½ cup Water
1 cup Heavy Cream
4 oz. Butter

1-2-3 Cookie Dough
1 lb. Butter
8 oz. Sugar
2 Eggs, large
1 ½ lbs. Cake Flour

Fleur de sel (available at gourmet food stores and some supermarkets)

Method:

Ganache
Place chocolate, corn syrup and butter in a bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream to boil, then pour over chocolate mixture. Stir with whisk until smooth.

Caramel Filling
Place sugar and water in a CLEAN pot; boil till golden brown. Slowly add cream and butter until incorporated.

Cookie Dough
Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time till combined. Mix in flour. Do not over-mix; stop when just incorporated. Wrap dough in plastic and chill 2 hours.

Roll out dough to 1/8" thick. Using a round cutter, cut into 6" circles.

Place cut-out dough in 4" tart shells. Bake in preheated 350o oven until shells are golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. When shells are cool, pour in a thin layer of caramel–just to coat the bottom. Place in refrigerator to set up, about 15 minutes.

Pour Ganache into each shell until filled. Chill for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle top with fleur de sel. Serve.

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