Chocolate Caramel Tart! An explosion of bitter, sweet, luscious chocolate caramel on a buttery biscuit crust.  Melts in your mouth goodness which gives that fuzzy feeling of all things wonderful.

This Lush Chocolate Caramel Tart is the brilliant outcome of following strong motherly instincts. 

Definitely Ooh-lal-la!

Gorgeous (Daughter No. 1) the dessert queen of this house came back one weekend from school, kinda mopey and sad. When asked, it seemed the melancholy was triggered by a chocolate caramel tart she made for her Uni suite mates (whom she loves btw).

How do I know? Because this group of girls have only known one another for a mere 9 months but even this mama knows who is lactose intolerant … who doesn’t take eggs … who has a nut allergy … who is vegan … who recycles passionately and who does not… well, you get the picture.

“Mom, it was perfect when I made it. But when it was served, the caramel has hardened in the fridge and it was like eating rock candy …🙄”

Hard vs Soft Caramel

The tart was for a birthday celebration and it was not a success. I went away too feeling her pangs of disappointment as I, of all people, pin ‘unholy’ significance on the birthday dessert! 

Seeing the child’s mopey face, thoughts of how to make a perfect Chocolate Caramel Tart started percolating in this SugarCrumble Mama. And after a few weeks of experimenting …. Tadah! …. this Lush Chocolate Caramel Tart was birthed!

The secret to this Lush Chocolate Tart is of course that luscious creamy Stay Soft Caramel. The caramel sets up to the perfect consistency – when chilled, it’s firm yet still soft and just a bit gooey when you dig into it with a fork.

Add chocolate ganache and a buttery biscuit crust to the equation and suddenly you have a decadent, heart-stopping dessert that is oh-so-delicious!

Check out the video below to see how to make this Lush Chocolate Caramel Tart.

I served this Chocolate Caramel Tart as Gorgeous’s birthday celebration surprise. Layers of silky caramel and dark chocolate ganache layered on a crumbly buttery melt-in-your-mouth tart crust made this an unbeatable combination of flavors and textures, and an unforgettable Birthday Tart! 😊

The Happy Birthday Girl with the Happy Birthday Tart! 

PS: not forgetting to mention, lovely fondant flowers and foliage is the birthday contribution of the little one for Big Sis!

What to watch out for …

Stay Soft Caramel

The Stay Soft Caramel is the star of this dessert and can be made in just 10 minutes on the stove!

Luscious, creamy, silky soft caramel

In cooking the caramel, you will need to watch it carefully as the sugar browns. For more details,  watch the recipe vid here and check out the tips in my Beautiful Stay Soft Caramel post.

Tart Crust

How to get this beautiful tart crust every time?

Beautiful golden tart crust

• Always use COLD, COLD, COLD butter and work quickly. I used a food processor to pulse the flour, sugar and butter until it formed small clumps. The small clumps come together to form a very malleable pastry which you can work by hand to mould into the tart tin. No rolling is required.

• Allow sufficient freezing time for the tart shells to firm up before baking and always bake from frozen, straight from the freezer to the hot oven. This helps the tart shell to hold its shape well during the 15 minute baking time.

Well formed tart crust with gooey soft caramel

• I don’t blind bake this tart crust as it is stable and usually does not puff up during baking. This is because the tart pastry is poked with a fork before baking which helps to release heat during baking. Occasionally, if there is a little puffing, just poke the tart base gently with a wooden skewer to release the heat during baking. Once the trapped heat is released, the tart crust will bake intact again.

Ugly gooey side or…. pretty neat layers?

• Be gentle when removing the tart shell after baking. My 8-inch non stick tart tin with removable bottom makes it easy to remove the shell well. Be extra careful handling the tart shell once un-moulded. Always use a palette knife to hold the bottom when moving the tart shell. Shortcrust pastry is quite crumbly and trust me, a chipped shell spoils even the prettiest looking tart.

• This tart crust pastry is a good make ahead. Once moulded into the tart pan, it can be kept frozen in a ziplock bag or cling wrap for up to a week before use.

Chocolate Ganache

• I have used 73.5% cocoa content chocolate and 60% cocoa content chocolate to make this Chocolate Caramel Tart. The 60% cocoa content chocolate was perfect.

Frankly, we love all things chocolate …

• I found the 73.5% cocoa content chocolate too bitter, so much so that the bitterness upsets the balance with the sweet caramel. I would say if you like your chocolate dark, go with no more than 70% cocoa content chocolate for the ganache. If you like this Lush Chocolate Caramel Tart, I think you will also fall in love with my Salted Orange Chocolate Tart. So make sure to check it out 😊!

To salt or not to salt?

• If it’s left to me, I’ll always salt my caramel. That said, two of my three gals do not like salt on their chocolate caramel so I’ve left it as an optional. IMHO, a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt before serving just brings out the flavor of the chocolate and tempers the sweetness of the caramel. Though, salt or no salt, this Lush Chocolate Caramel Tart is still simply irresistible!

Yes, that luscious creamy caramel layer is what we want!

It turns out that hands down, Beautiful (Daughter No. 2) is the biggest fan of this Chocolate Caramel Tart. Think she ate 3 slices at a go at some point during the celebration. When I suggested to make another and gift it as a 50th birthday tart for Uncle Tom, a good friend of the family, I received a gentle one hour ‘talk’ from this biggest fan how the SugarCrumble kids are not getting enough Chocolate Caramel Tart and therefore none should be given away! 😅

Up close and gooey …

A slice of chocolate caramel heaven! Oh and my kids are so bugging me to make this again.😊!

Did you make this? I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a review. Or take a photo and share it on Instagram or FB; be sure to tag me please @thesugarcrumble.

Print Recipe

Lush Chocolate Caramel Tart

Chocolate Caramel Tart! Explosion of bitter, sweet, luscious chocolate caramel on a buttery biscuit crust.  Melts in your mouth goodness which gives that fuzzy feeling of all things wonderful. A slice of chocolate caramel heaven 😊!

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Chilling time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time3 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Keyword: chocolate; caramel;, dessert; sweet and salty tart;

Servings: 8 inch round tart tin

Author: Kai

Ingredients

Tart crust

• 1 cup cake flour
• 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 120 g unsalted butter

Tart filling

dark chocolate ganache

• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (60% cocoa content)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

caramel

• 1/3 cup Stay Soft Caramel (see recipe vid below)

Instructions

Easy Tart Crust

• Lightly butter, or using baking spray, grease an 8 inch (20cm) round tart pan.
• In the food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, cold butter and salt to combine until the pastry starts to come together and form clumps.
• Transfer the pastry to the prepared pans and using your fingers, evenly press the pastry up the sides of the pan and onto the bottom.
• Gently pierce the bottom of the crust with the tines of a fork. This is to prevent the pastry crust from puffing up while it bakes.
• Cover the tart crust with cling wrap and place it in the freezer for an hour or overnight to firm up. This helps to prevent the pastry from shrinking while it bakes.
• Preheat oven to 220C. Place the frozen tart shell on a larger baking tray and bake the crust at the lowest rack of the oven. Bake for ~15 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Once cooled, un-mould from tart pan and chill in the fridge whilst making the filling.

Dark Chocolate Ganache

• Heat the heavy cream till just boiling and pour over the dark chocolate chips.
• Stir briskly until the dark chocolate is completely melted and the chocolate ganache is smooth and has no lumps. Leave to cool.

Assembly

• Pour the caramel sauce onto the tart shell. Freeze for 30 minutes to allow the caramel to set.
• Layer on the cooled chocolate ganache on top of the caramel, filling it to just a line below the top of the tart shell (do not overfill).
• Use a small toothpick to break any air bubbles in the chocolate ganache.
• Chill for at least an hour to set the ganache and fuse the flavours. Enjoy.

Video

Notes

 

Stay Soft Caramel

The Stay Soft Caramel is the star of this dessert and can be made in just 10 minutes on the stove. In cooking the caramel, you will need to watch it carefully as the sugar browns. For more details,  watch the recipe vid below and check out the tips in my Beautiful Stay Soft Caramel post.

 

Tart Crust

How to get a beautiful tart crust every time?

• Always use COLD, COLD, COLD butter and work quickly. I used a food processor to pulse the flour, sugar and butter until it formed small clumps. The small clumps come together to form a very malleable pastry which you can work by hand to mould into the tart tin. No rolling is required.

• Allow sufficient freezing time for the tart shells to firm up before baking and always bake from frozen, straight from the freezer to the hot oven. This helps the tart shell to hold its shape well during the 15 minute baking time.

• I don’t blind bake this tart crust as it is stable and usually does not puff up during baking. This is because the tart pastry is poked with a fork before baking which helps to release heat during baking. Occasionally, if there is a little puffing, just poke the tart base gently with a wooden skewer to release the heat during baking. Once the trapped heat is released, the tart crust will bake intact again.

• Be gentle when removing the tart shell after baking. My 8-inch non stick tart tin with removable bottom makes it easy to remove the shell well. Be extra careful handling the tart shell once un-moulded. Always use a palette knife to hold the bottom when moving the tart shell. Shortcrust pastry is quite crumbly and trust me, a chipped shell spoils even the prettiest looking tart.

• This tart crust pastry is a good make ahead. Once moulded into the tart pan, it can be kept frozen in a ziplock bag or cling wrap for up to a week before use.

 

Chocolate Ganache

• I have used 73.5% cocoa content chocolate and 60% cocoa content chocolate to make this Chocolate Caramel Tart. The 60% cocoa content chocolate was perfect.

• I found the 73.5% cocoa content chocolate too bitter, so much so that the bitterness upsets the balance with the sweet caramel. I would say if you like your chocolate dark, go with no more than 70% cocoa content chocolate for the ganache.

 

To salt or not to salt?

• If it’s left to me, I’ll always salt my caramel. That said, two of my three gals do not like salt on their chocolate caramel so I’ve left it as an optional. IMHO, a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt before serving just brings out the flavor of the chocolate and tempers the sweetness of the caramel. Though, salt or no salt, this Lush Chocolate Caramel Tart is still simply irresistible!