Chocolate Caramel Tart

Your alternative holiday pie recipe that you should really be making all year long.

Hi Bakers!

Imagine a luxe Twix candy bar with a mega glow-up. That is this Chocolate Caramel Tart. Here we have a snappy, buttery crust filled with chewy caramel and a rich chocolate ganache topping. Each slice is a little piece of pure decadence. 

This tart would honestly make the perfect dinner party dessert. Sliced thin with a side espresso, it is elegant, familiar, and straightforward to make. 

Hosting guests for a holiday event or want something other than pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving? Add this to the menu.

Aside from the flaky sea salt, there are only three components to this tart. Each is important and begs to be made with love, but none are too difficult to master on their own. 

Starting with the crust, pâte sucrée is a sweet tart dough. It is buttery and has a snappy, crisp quality once baked. See my tips for rolling out the dough or press it into the pan itself (for me, rolling keeps its thickness even). 

The caramel filling is arguably my favorite part. It is gooey and chewy with deep caramel notes and tons of vanilla flavor. You don’t need a candy thermometer to make it either. 

Don’t shy away from the caramel’s deepening color. You will want to take it to a medium-dark amber color to help with the set of the filling. Too light, and the caramel will be on the thinner side and will lack complexity. 

As the color sets in, swirl the pan so that it cooks evenly. Once it is there (it may start to smell a little nutty and burnt), immediately remove the caramel from the heat and carefully whisk in the cream. This will help stop the cooking process.

I love adding salt to caramel, but I advise you hold back here a bit since there is flaky salt on top. However, do not hold back on the vanilla.  A glug of vanilla bean paste makes it taste amazing.

The dark chocolate ganache brings everything together. It can be a bit rich, so I prefer a thinner layer that is just set. Look for a dark chocolate that is about 70% cacao.

Here’s the deal with this tart: once sliced, the caramel filling never really stops flowing. It is slow enough to serve to guests, but after time, the filling will essentially ooze out. But that’s okay!

You don’t want the caramel to set any harder or you may break a tooth. Instead, it is a little gooey with a lovely chew. 

For leftovers, a piece of plastic wrap pressed to the cut edge will act as a caramel dam.