Caramel & Chocolate Ganache Tart with Sweet Pastry
Chocolate and caramel, yes please, if you’re a chocolate and caramel lover that is!
The pastry of this tart is a pastry I use in almost every dessert tart I make.
It’s so easy to make and tastes so good I have been known to eat a bit, or two, before its cooked.
Health warning - Not recommending to eat the pastry raw, just saying that it tastes so good I’ve done it.
If made properly, the ganache turns out so smooth.
And the way to make it properly is to not over heat it.
I’ve recommended making it in the microwave, but if that’s not your thing, it’s just as easy making it by heating the cream up in a saucepan until almost boiling – but not quite (make sure not to take your eye off the cream while its heating).
When it reaches the right temperature, pour it over the broken chocolate pieces.
Let it sit until the chocolate looks almost melted, then give it a good stir until it becomes smooth and creamy.
Perfect.
As for the caramel, I’m not adverse to a little cheating.
That’s what I’ve done here by using bought caramel.
I don’t always do this, if I’ve more time I make my own and maybe I should have done here!
Why didn’t I?
I was just too lazy and too short of time, so I hope you’ll forgive me and enjoy the recipe for what it is?
Incredible decadent!
Go on give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Look at that gooey !
What You Need
Filling
280g Milk Chocolate
220ml Double Cream
1 Tin of caramel – See Tip Box
Baking blind, i fill mine with rice.
Pastry
350g Plain Flour
100g Castor Sugar
250g Salted Butter – Cold and cut into cubes- Extra for the tin
Pinch of salt
Icing sugar for rolling
Icing Sugar for Dusting
Once the rice/baking beans is taken out of the partly cooked cases, trim and neaten up the edges
How It’s Done
Pastry
Set the oven to 190c
Place the flour, sugar and salt into a food processor and give it a blitz to mix it up.
While the food processor is running, add the cold butter, cube by cube.
Let the processor run until the ingredients come together into a soft dough.
Wrap the pastry in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for around 20 minutes.
Prepare individual loose bottomed tins by rubbing margarine or butter around the inside and dusting the inside with flour
Once rested, through some icing sugar onto a clean work surface and roll the pastry out to around £1 thickness.
Cut out the pastry to fit the prepared tins making sure that the pastry overhangs by approx. ½ inch.
Line each of the tins with non- stick baking parchment.
Fill the lined tins with baking beans or an alternative – See Tip Box
Place the lined tins into the hot oven and bake for 12 minutes
After the time is up, remove them from the oven, take out the paper and baking beans and run a knife around the edges of the tin to cut off the excess pastry.
Place the tart cases back into the oven, and bake for a further 5-7 minutes – until the pastry is a golden brown.
Remove the baked cases from the oven and let them cool completely
Once the cases are cool, run a very thin knife around the edges of the tin to loosen the pastry.
Once loose, remove the pastry from the tin
Take the pastry out of the case very carefully so they don’t break.
Ganache
Break the chocolate into a microwave bowl
Add the cream
Place the bowl into the microwave and heat for 30 seconds
Give it a mix
Repeat until the chocolate has almost melted – approx. 1min 30sec – See Tip Box
Set the ganache aside until it cools and thickens up to a thick but spoon-able consistency.
Carefully spoon the ganache on top of the caramel.
Assembly
Place some of the cold caramel in the bottom of each pastry case
Level the caramel out
Gently spoon some of the cool chocolate ganache on top of the caramel and level it out.
Place the tarts in the fridge to set up before eating or leave to cool completely in a cool place
Bites of deliciousness
Tip Box
Caramel – I’ve used tinned caramel because I was in a bit of a hurry, but if you’ve got more time, make your own, let it cool completely and use that.
Blind Baking – Blind baking is part baking something while it is lined and filled with something that holds in the heat and keeps the pastry from expanding. Baking beans are great for this, or even uncooked rice.
Microwave- Don’t over heat the ganache. Heat in 30 second intervals and give it a mix when most of the chocolate has melted but there are still some small pieces of chocolate let unmelted.
Soft ganache in top of sweet caramel in a crumbly buttery pastry
