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    Home » Pies and Tarts

    Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart (Daring Bakers)

    Aug 29, 2007 · Modified: Dec 19, 2020 by Andrea · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 44 Comments

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    Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart - Andrea Meyers

    If you have read other posts on my blog, you probably know that I have something of an obsession with caramel and chocolate. Caramel is my all-time favorite decadent treat, followed closely by chocolate in all its forms, and the two are a match made in heaven. When I saw that Veron and Patricia had chosen Eric Kayser's Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart for this months Daring Bakers challenge, my pulse quickened and I immediately began to plan how many times I could make the tart in just one month. As it turned out, I only had one occasion for it, but we enjoyed it so much that I will make this a regular item for parties or Bunco night!

    Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart - Andrea Meyers

    The layered tart has a chocolate cinnamon pastry crust, a rich caramel middle, and a chocolate mousse topping with sugar art decorations, and it is absolutely decadent. The moms in the neighborhood thoroughly enjoyed it and asked to take slices home to their husbands!

    The cookbook was originally written in French and then translated for an international audience, so the measurements are approximated from the original metric. Because the original recipe assumes a few things that a pastry chef or student would know, I adapted it heavily for my blog and split the directions into sections for Day 1 (make the pastry dough) and Day 2 (all the rest). Some important points to note:

    • The pastry dough requires overnight resting time in the frig, plus the baked caramel requires some cooling time, so make sure you plan ahead.
    • The original recipe calls for a food processor to mix the pastry, but many food processor bowls are not large enough to hold all the pastry dough, so I recommend using a stand mixer instead.
    • The pastry dough recipe makes a lot more than required for the tart, so I recommend dividing the dough and freezing some of it for later.
    • The sugar and caramel preparation calls for "the dry method," which means cooking down plain granulated sugar until it dissolves into a solution. No liquids are added in the process; however, this method is tricky because 1) the sugar tends to crystallize very easily, thus rendering a grainy texture, and 2) it also burns very quickly if you don't stay on top of it. It took me four tries to get the sugar decorations right. For ease of home cooking, I recommend making the caramel using a wet method with added water and corn syrup (see the instructions below) and adding a bit of corn syrup or lemon juice when making the sugar decorations, which will prevent large sucrose molecules from forming.
    • Regular all-purpose flour tends to clump when making the caramel filling, so sift thoroughly or use a finely sifted flour such as Wondra® or Pillsbury Shake and Blend.
    • The heavy cream for the caramel is not the same as the whipping cream for the mousse. Heavy cream has a higher fat content, and because it will go into some very hot caramel, it should be at room temperature to avoid any explosions. Seriously! The caramel cream mixture bloomed up the pan as soon as I poured in the cream even though I had let the cream sit out on the counter the whole time I worked on the caramel sugar. The whipping cream for the mousse must be very cold so that it will whip up light and fluffy, so keep it in the frig until the last possible second.

    The Daring Bakers logoTo see the original recipe, check out Veron's post (now dark).

    This tart is decadent and very rich, so I suggest small slices, about 12 per tart. The Daring Bakers have posted their photos and stories all over the Internet, and you can see the whole list at The Daring Bakers Blogroll.

    References

    Exploratorium - Science of Candy: Science of Sugar

    Ground hazelnuts - Andrea Meyers

    Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart - Andrea Meyers
    Print Pin

    Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart

    Adapted from Sweet and Savory Tarts, by Eric Kayser. Makes 1 9-inch tart.
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: French
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Keyword: caramel, chocolate, eggs, mousse, tart
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 796kcal

    Equipment

    • stand mixer with paddle and wire whisk attachments
    • 9-inch square pan or 10-inch round pan (recommend a springform or tart pan)
    • dry beans or rice (for weighing down the pastry)
    • plastic wrap
    • medium sauce pan
    • small mixing bowl
    • medium glass bowl
    • baking sheet, lined with parchment paper
    • small sauce pan
    • 1 quart plastic storage bag (optional)
    • star decorating tip (optional)

    Ingredients

    Pastry

    • ½ cup ground hazelnuts
    • 1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
    • 1 cup confectioners sugar (plus 2 tablespoons)
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 2 eggs
    • 4½ cups cake flour
    • 2½ teaspoons baking powder
    • 1½ tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder

    Caramel Filling

    • 1 cup granulated sugar
    • ½ cup water
    • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
    • 1 cup heavy cream ((30-40 percent butterfat) or crème fraiche, room temperature)
    • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 2 whole eggs
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 2½ tablespoons flour (I use Wondra® or Pillsbury Shake and Blend.)

    Mousse

    • 1¼ cups whipping cream (very cold)
    • 8 ounces milk chocolate (chopped - I used Ghirardelli Baking Chocolate.)

    Sugar Decorations

    • ½ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 teaspoon light corn syrup (or lemon juice, see notes above)
    US Customary - Metric

    Preparation

    Day 1 - Make the Pastry Dough

    • Put the butter into the bowl of the stand mixer and cream it using the paddle attachment.
    • Add the confectioners’ sugar, the ground hazelnuts, and the cinnamon, and mix together well.
    • Add the eggs, one by one, mixing continuously until fully incorporated.
    • Sift in the flour, the baking powder, and the cocoa powder. Mix well, until a dough is formed.
    • Remove the dough from the bowl and divide the dough into three equal pieces. Shape each piece into a disk and cover in plastic wrap. Chill overnight.

    Day 2 - Finish the Tart

    • Pastry: Preheat oven to 325 °F (160 °C).
    • Using one of the pieces of pastry, line the bottom and sides of the baking pan. If using a tart pan, bring the pastry all the way up to the top. If using a springform pan, bring the pastry about half way up the sides. Pour beans or rice into the bottom of the pastry, covering the surface. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
    • ***While the pastry bakes***
    • Caramel Filling: In the medium saucepan, add the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat (heat setting 5 on my gas cooktop), stirring constantly, until all of the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring. Don't stir anymore! (If you continue to stir, sugar crystals may form and make the caramel grainy.)
      Boiling sugar for caramel - Andrea Meyers
    • Reduce the heat to low (heat setting 3 on my gas cooktop) and continue to slowly boil until the color of the caramel changes from clear to a deep, golden amber. Remove from heat immediately! Stir in the heavy cream or crème fraiche and then add the butter. Mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool.
      Hot cooked caramel in the pot - Andrea Meyers
    • In the small mixing bowl, beat the eggs and then whisk in the flour until no traces of flour are visible. Pour the egg and flour mixture into the cream-caramel mixture and mix thoroughly.
    • Pour the beans/rice out of the pastry shell, and add the caramel mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
    • Chocolate Mousse: Put the chopped chocolate into the glass bowl and melt in the microwave, cooking for 30 seconds on medium heat. Stir and repeat until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Stir the remaining small bits of chocolate into the melted chocolate and set aside to cool.
    • When the chocolate is cool, put the whipping cream into the bowl of the stand mixer and beat it using the wire whisk attachment. The cream should have stiff peaks. Gently fold in the cooled chocolate until fully incorporated. Don't beat it or the mousse will lose volume.
      Whipped chocolate mousse in the mixing bowl - Andrea Meyers
    • Spread the chocolate mousse over the cooled caramel layer. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator. (Optional: Reserve about ¾ cup of the mousse. Put it into a plastic bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe stars around the edges of the tart.)
    • Sugar Decorations: In the small sauce pan, add the sugar and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat (heat setting 5 on my gas cooktop), stirring constantly, until all of the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring. Reduce the heat to low (heat setting 3 on my gas cooktop) and continue to slowly boil until the color of the caramel changes from clear to light amber. Quickly pour it onto the parchment lined baking sheet, making designs as you go. The melted sugar will begin to cool as you pour and you will get some filaments, but that's ok. Allow the sugar to cool thoroughly, then break it up into small pieces and put them on top of the tart.
      Sugar decorations for the tart - Andrea Meyers
    • Tips: If your sugar happens to burn, just pour it out into a can from your recycle bin. Add water to the pan and set it back on the burner on low heat. This will break up the burnt sugar and make clean up a lot easier.

    Nutrition

    Sodium: 49mg | Calcium: 102mg | Vitamin C: 1mg | Vitamin A: 1346IU | Sugar: 47g | Fiber: 3g | Potassium: 254mg | Cholesterol: 183mg | Calories: 796kcal | Saturated Fat: 27g | Fat: 48g | Protein: 11g | Carbohydrates: 87g | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Share in the comments!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. brilynn says

      August 29, 2007 at 5:03 pm

      That first pic is so elegant!

      Reply
    2. Mary says

      August 29, 2007 at 5:36 pm

      Very pretty Andrea! I'm sure the neighbors are more than happy to partake in sampling whatever comes out of your kitchen. I had no clumping using all-pupose flour in my caramel but using Wondra is a good tip.

      Reply
    3. Laurie says

      August 29, 2007 at 5:37 pm

      Your tart couldnt look more perfect. What a fantastic job you did! xo

      Reply
    4. kellypea says

      August 29, 2007 at 5:58 pm

      Your tart turned out beautifully. I love the uniformity of the coloring -- and it looks sooooooo creamy!

      Reply
    5. Deborah says

      August 29, 2007 at 5:08 pm

      It's beautiful!! I love your sugar decorations.

      Reply
    6. steph says

      August 29, 2007 at 6:25 pm

      your caramel decorations came out beautifully. great tips and photos!

      Reply
    7. Anh says

      August 29, 2007 at 7:00 pm

      Your tart looks incredible! I would order that in a restaurant!

      Reply
    8. Ivonne says

      August 29, 2007 at 9:16 pm

      Andrea,

      Your tart is a thing of beauty! Well done!

      Reply
    9. Lisa says

      August 29, 2007 at 9:17 pm

      You made a beautiful tart, Andrea - and I love your decorations =)

      xoxo

      Reply
    10. Sathya says

      August 29, 2007 at 9:33 pm

      Yum! That looks so moist and yummy! Well done. I like your tips, they would make it much easier for anyone making this.

      Reply
    11. Aoife says

      August 29, 2007 at 11:59 pm

      Oooh, I love your sugar decorations! I've never used Wondra or Shake and Blend, but I might have to look into them.

      Reply
    12. Dharm says

      August 30, 2007 at 1:59 am

      Your tart looks superb! I wanted to pipe around it too but my mousse started to melt a little in the heat. I like how your layers are so nice too. Well done Andrea!

      Reply
    13. baking soda says

      August 30, 2007 at 2:03 am

      Love the nutty picture! Nice piped borders and your layers are pretty, overall, beauty tart!

      Reply
    14. fanny says

      August 30, 2007 at 4:38 am

      Andrea,
      I'm just discovering your blog and I already loooove it.
      Beautiful tart.

      Love xxx
      - fanny

      Reply
    15. Morven says

      August 30, 2007 at 5:19 am

      I miss Bunco - perhaps I need to import it to NZ. You did a beautiful job on your tart. Thanks for all that background info on the recipe.

      Reply
    16. KJ says

      August 30, 2007 at 5:59 am

      Your tart is really beautiful. I love the sugar decorations.

      Reply
    17. Amanda @ Little Foodies says

      August 30, 2007 at 6:06 am

      Wow! Lovely pics and I like how you've broken down all your tips, etc.

      Reply
    18. Patricia Scarpin says

      August 30, 2007 at 9:33 am

      Beautiful, Andrea - love your caramel decorations!

      Reply
    19. Cris says

      August 30, 2007 at 9:52 am

      What a treat! And the decoration is so beautiful!

      Reply
    20. Kelly-Jane says

      August 30, 2007 at 10:32 am

      Perfect tart, well done! =)

      Reply
    21. Jenny says

      August 30, 2007 at 2:00 pm

      Love the caramel shards on top, and your mousse looks so creamy!

      Reply
    22. maria~ says

      August 30, 2007 at 2:40 pm

      Andrea, I love you sugar art decorations and the tart looks so scrumptious!

      Reply
    23. Tartelette says

      August 30, 2007 at 4:04 pm

      Beautiful tart Andrea! Love the caramel chards on top!

      Reply
    24. peabody says

      August 30, 2007 at 4:42 pm

      Beautiful job and great tips for your readers too!

      Reply
    25. Jenny says

      August 30, 2007 at 6:12 pm

      Wonderful work and great post Andrea! Your tart looks lovely.

      Reply
    26. Jen the bread freak says

      August 30, 2007 at 6:51 pm

      Your tart turned out beautifully! It looks like it's floating above the plate in the first photo. Nice! 😀

      Reply
    27. Prissy says

      August 30, 2007 at 11:01 pm

      I love the perspective of the photographs too. You're getting so good Andrea! Food is the hardest thing to photograph and make look good.

      Reply
    28. Amy says

      August 31, 2007 at 12:14 am

      It looks fabulous! The border is really cute and the caramel shards are beautiful.

      Reply
    29. Katie says

      August 31, 2007 at 3:56 am

      All your components of the tart look so smooth and silky. Delicious

      Reply
    30. Andrea says

      August 31, 2007 at 10:27 am

      My dear Daring Bakers, you all so sweet! Thank you, and I just LOVE being a member of this group!

      Prissy, thank you! Every once in a while I get lucky on a photo! 🙂

      Reply
    31. MyKitchenInHalfCups says

      August 31, 2007 at 5:03 pm

      Andrea, I love your decoration sugar! Really outstanding. Great job.

      Reply
    32. Rose says

      August 31, 2007 at 7:31 pm

      Great pictures Andrea! I really enjoy your blog--I've had it bookmarked for some time. 🙂

      Reply
    33. Jerry says

      September 01, 2007 at 1:35 pm

      Lovely as usual!

      Reply
    34. Chris says

      September 01, 2007 at 2:18 pm

      Your tart looks lovely! Great job!

      Reply
    35. Wendy says

      September 01, 2007 at 11:37 pm

      Your tart looks wonderful. I love how you write about the tart like a recipe. Thanks for the reference on sugar science. I will make this tart again for a PTO social event on Tuesday. Your caramel decorations look great, too.

      Reply
    36. jale fikircioglu says

      September 02, 2007 at 7:02 am

      ı like your tart .Wonderful jale/ Turkey istanbul

      Reply
    37. Meeta says

      September 03, 2007 at 11:43 am

      Lovely looking tart Andrea! Simply awesome!

      Reply
    38. Dolores says

      September 04, 2007 at 3:35 pm

      I love your tips for making the tart... they'll certainly come in handy when I finally get around to making it!

      Reply
    39. monica says

      September 04, 2007 at 7:53 pm

      absolutely gorgeous tart! i love the border and the decorations...fabulous job!

      Reply
    40. JennDZ - The Leftover Queen says

      September 04, 2007 at 9:41 pm

      Great job! I love your tips!

      Reply
    41. barbara says

      September 05, 2007 at 8:47 pm

      Hi Andrea thanks for stopping by my blog. Your tart looks wonderful.

      Reply
    42. breadchick says

      September 08, 2007 at 7:35 pm

      Wow, the contrast of your lovely tart on the white plate is gorgeous! Great job on the challenge this month!!

      Reply
    43. Sveta says

      June 27, 2008 at 2:41 pm

      Andrea!
      I tried this tart today and it does not look like yours at all!!!!
      Wow! I was impressed before, but now that i tried it myself I have to say you did a wonderful job! You should open your own café or bakery...!

      😉

      Reply
    44. Andrea says

      June 30, 2008 at 8:16 am

      Sveta, thank you for the nice comments, and I'm glad you tried the tart!

      Reply

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