Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

Looking for a rich, decadent dessert that is sure to be enjoyed by all? This Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart is deliciously sweet and salty, with creamy chocolate and caramel.

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I had initially made this tart for Thanksgiving. The first time I made it, it was good... But there were some things I wanted to improve upon. I wasn't thrilled with the ratio of chocolate to caramel to crust. So, I made it again, this time making some modifications to increase the crust amount, increase the caramel, and decrease the chocolate slightly. It was much better the second time around!! We had some friends over to watch the Georgia Tech bowl game, and everyone loved it!

This tart is a bit time-consuming. It is not a quick batch of cookies or brownies. Because you have to make the crust, the chocolate filling, and the caramel topping, there is quite a bit to do. So I would not recommend trying to make this if you're in a rush. The ingredients, however, are not too bad. Most of what you need can already be found in a baker's pantry. The only two items I had to buy special were the bittersweet chocolate and heavy cream.

Start by preparing the crust. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, vanilla, and ice water. Gradually add the egg mixture into the flour mixture, mixing well to combine.
Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until mostly incorporated. If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can use two knives, holding them pointed downward, crossed into an X shape, and use them to cut in the butter.

Knead the dough into a ball. Pat it a little flat, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Then place the dough in the fridge to chill for an hour.

After the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 325°F.
Roll the dough out into a circle slightly larger than your tart pan. You don’t want it too thick - probably between ⅛”-¼” thick. Once rolled out, place the dough into the tart pan, pressing into the bottom and sides of the pan.

Place a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the crust. Pour in pie weights. If you don’t have any pie weights, you could use dry beans instead. The weights just serve to prevent the crust from bubbling up while it bakes.
Place the tart pan on top of a baking sheet. The reason for this is because most tart pans have a removable bottom (which I highly recommend using). However, because you have the removable bottom, while the tart bakes, the butter melts and some of it can leak out through the gap in the pan. When the butter falls to the bottom of the oven, it makes a mess. So the baking sheet helps prevent mess and a smoking oven.
Bake for 20 minutes, til slightly golden brown. Allow the crust to cool while preparing the filling.

Next, make the filling. In a medium pan, heat the heavy cream and whole milk over medium heat. Heat until it boils. Then remove from heat and pour in the bittersweet chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. In a small separate bowl, whisk together the egg and egg yolk. Slowly pour about ¼ of the chocolate mixture into the eggs, whisking to combine. Then slowly pour the egg/chocolate mixture back inot the remaining chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. Doing this tempers the eggs and prevents them from scrambling. Otherwise, if you pour cool or room temperature eggs directly into a hot chocolate mixture, the eggs will start to cook. And no one wants scrambled eggs in their chocolate.

Pour the filling into the cooled crust, until it is filled about halfway, maybe just slightly more. You probably won’t need to use the entire chocolate mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is set.

While the tart is baking, prepare the caramel. In a medium pan, heat the sugar over medium heat, stirring almost constantly to prevent burning. The sugar will begin to form clumps. Then it will start to melt and turn brown. When the sugar is completely melted and browned, add in the butter. The mixture will bubble; continue stirring for another 1-2 minutes, until the butter is completely melted. Add the cream. Boil for 1 minute, still stirring constantly. Then remove from the heat, and mix in 1½ tsp sea salt.

Allow the caramel to cool for about 15 minutes before pouring into the tart.
Pour the caramel over the entire chocolate filling, making sure not to let it spill over the edges. You may not need to use all of the caramel.
Chill the tart in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp of sea salt.

The top of my tart does not look extremely neat. This is because I had a mishap with aluminum foil. I had covered my tart while I chilled it in the fridge. However, the aluminum foil fell in the middle slightly and stuck to the caramel. So when I tried to pull it off, no matter how hard I tried to keep it neat, it made a mess. But oh well - it still tasted great. And that's the most important part...even though I really wanted it to look perfect.

Prepare the crust: In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, & salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, vanilla, & ice water.
Gradually add the egg mixture into the flour mixture, mixing well to combine.
Cut in the butter, and blend well til mostly incorporated.
Knead the dough into a ball; pat flat & wrap with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate 1 hour.

After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 325°F.
Roll the dough out into a circle slightly larger than your tart pan.
Place the dough into the tart pan, pressing into the bottom & sides.
Place aluminum foil over the top of the dough, & pour in pie weights.
Place tart pan on top of a baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, til slightly golden brown.
Allow to cool while preparing filling.

Make the filling: In a medium pan, heat the heavy cream & whole milk over medium heat.
Heat until boiling, then remove from heat & stir in chocolate; stir til melted & smooth.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs.
Slowly pour about ¼ of the chocolate mixture into the eggs, whisking quickly to combine & prevent eggs from scrambling.
Slowly pour the egg/chocolate mixture back into the remaining chocolate; mix to combine.
Pour chocolate filling into tart, filling it about halfway up; you may not need to use all of the chocolate.
Bake 20-25 minutes, til set.

While tart is baking, prepare the caramel. In a medium pan, heat the sugar over medium heat, stirring almost constantly to prevent burning.
Once sugar has melted & turned brown, add butter. Mixture will bubble; stir for 1-2 minutes, til butter has fully melted.
Add heavy cream. Boil for 1 minute; remove from heat & mix in 1½ tsp sea salt.
Allow the caramel to cool about 15 minutes before pouring caramel over tart. You may not use all of the caramel.

Refrigerate tart at least 2 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle w/ remaining sea salt.