Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart

I had a great story to tell you about these tarts involving me and my sister in Paris, a scrumptious round of Camembert grillé and a crunchy baguette, a long walk on foot from my sister's tiny apartment at rue Miollis (15ème arrondissement) to rue Cail (10ème), samosas at Krishna and shopping spices at Ganesha, then on our way back dropping ourselves in a small local pastry shop (not as trendy as Hermé or Aoki, but with it's own charm) for these little salted caramel life boosters and a looong walk on foot (again) to rue Cler(7ème) for a late Friday night Mojito with friends. Yup, comfy shoes on our feet and large smiles on our faces – this is all we needed not to care about the rain nor the cool winter wind.

But the cursor was blinking nasty on the white page and although my head was full of stories, nothing was coming out of my fingers on the keyboard. After a week the page was still white and the cursor was still blinking as if laughing at me.

I like food related stories and memories. But this block went on too long and since obviously I've sank in a deep writer's whiteness and there is no story coming out of me, I'll be happy to hear your salted caramel stories.

Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart Recipe:
Adapted from Vanilla Garlic
Makes 6 small 8-cm tarts or one big 22-cm tart

For the Crust:

• 110 gr butter, softened;
• 100 gr sugar;
• 1 large egg yolk;
• 130 gr all purpose flour;
• 30 gr dutch processed cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg yolk. Combine the flour and cocoa powder and add them to the butter mixture. Mix in until it just comes together. Roll out the dough or form it just pressing it with your fingers into 6 8-cm rings laid down on a paper lined baking tray. Fridge the tarts shells for an hour to set. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180º C. Prick the tart shells all over with a fork and blind bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

For the Caramel:

• 125 ml water;
• 400 gr granulated sugar;
• 60 gr glucose;
• 125 ml heavy cream;
• 110 gr butter (if using salted butter skip the salt below);
• 15 gr flaked sea salt.

In a saucepan, whisk together the sugar, glucose and the water and bring to a boil. Salt can be added at this initial step (skip if using salted butter), but I prefer to add it at the end in order to preserve the salt crystals. Cook without stirring until amber colour, if using a candy thermometer it should reach 180º C . Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the butter and the cream until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shells and refrigerate until firm, around 4 hours.

For the Ganache:

• 120 gr heavy cream;
• 120 gr high quality dark chocolate (we used Cacao Barry's Tanzanie);
• Sea salt or kosher salt for garnish

Bring the cream to a simmer. Then pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Wait for a minute, then stir to obtain a smooth ganache. Pour the ganache evenly over the tarts and refrigerate for further 4 hour. Before serving sprinkle with sea salt, but not before as it will melt away.

Tip: If you have any caramel left, wait till it hardens, then tear small pieces of it and dip them in dark chocolate.