A fancy shmancy dessert, worthy of consumption only for the above-average chocolate fanatic.

Hi everybody, I’m baaaaack! NIMUN was awesome, thanks for asking!

No, but really, I had a great time.

For all of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, NIMUN is an international model UN held at my college last week. I was part of the OC and stayed on campus the entire last week, and had the time.of.my.life! And thus had been MIA. Also, because, finals. Eh. Let’s not talk about them.

Let’s, instead, talk about the gorgeousness I’m sharing with you today! Yes people>>> it’s none other than a SALTED CARAMEL CHOCOLATE GANACHE COOKIE TART.

There, the whole dessert, each of its beautiful bold layers perfectly inundated, by the name.

A dark chocolate all-butter cookie crust, lush salted caramel, and an incredibly decadent chocolate ganache – this Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart is sure to grab your attention! Heck anyone’s attention! Perfect for the coming Valentine’s Day. Jussayin’ 😉

This tart is not your average chocolate dessert. It’s a fancy shmancy dessert, so rich; so indulgent; so very scrumptious, you’ll be coming back for more and more, knowing the disastrous effects its having on your waistline; totally shamrockin’ your “new-fit-me” New Year resolution.

 

 

This extra decadent tart has three parts to it; the crust, caramel, and chocolate ganache, but they’re all very easy.

It’s the long never-ending wait in between the making of each layer that kills you! Other than that, it is one simple dessert to make; the varying texture of each layer creates magic in your mouth. This takes more time to prepare, but it. is. worth it!

We begin at the base of this delicious dessert: the dark chocolate cookie crust!

You start off by creaming together your butter, icing sugar, egg yolks and vanilla.

Then fold in the flour, cocoa, and salt. Mix till it all just comes together and forms a big clump. Now plop this crumbly mix into a lightly greased tart shell.

The loose bottom tart shell is the way to go but I couldn’t get hold of it. The silicone kind worked wonders, the tart easily slides from it and was much cheaper too.

Press the dough evenly with your fingers.

Let it chill in the fridge for about 15 to 30 mins, to prevent the sides from slumping.

Then bake it, and allow to cool.

Next you’re going to be making a caramel sauce by cooking together water and sugar. Once amber, add in; cream, salt, and butter.

The caramel sauce is really easy and only takes a few minutes on the stove-top.

My only piece of advice here is to stay close while the caramel is cooking. Caramel starts out slow but when it reaches a certain level, it happens fast, and if you walk away to check your Snapchat or charge your phone, you may very well return to a pot full of burnt ingredients. And that would be a downright shame and you’ll have to start all over again.

This caramel guysss!

I’ve made caramel before but nothing like this. It was beyond my imagination.

Reminiscent of a molten éclair candy. My sisters swooned over it. Everyone was going vavavoom over it.

Chewy and gooey and oh so melt-in-your mouth good.

You’ll find yourself sneaking it in your mouth again and again. But don’t eat all of it, ok? We need some for our tart ala magnifique!

Next up is your basic Ganache, made juuust pourable.

To do this you’ll simply place the chocolate in a bowl, pour warmed cream over top, and stir like crazy!

Pour over the caramel, and allow to set.

Then top with an extra chocolate drizzle, just because…why not?

And then sprinkle with sea salt (I might have overdone it a teeny bit), and then dig in!

That first bite though.

Rich, fudgy, and utterly decadent.

The caramel settles just the slightest bit and makes a small layer of fudge-like goodness on the bottom.

Then you have the chocolate that melts slowly in your mouth as you chew.

And the slight tinge of saltiness from the sea salt. *swoooon*

 

Now get thee into the kitchen and make this. Then pour yourself a tall glass of cold milk, or green tea, and enjoy bite after decadent bite.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Ganache Tart with Cookie Crust Prep Time: 30 minutes                                                                        Yields: 8-10 servings Cook Time: 35 minutes Ingredients: FOR THE COOKIE CRUST: 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup cocoa powder 1/4 tsp salt ½ cup + 2 Tbsp butter (125 g), at room temperature ½ cup confectioner’s sugar 2 egg yolks 1/2 tsp vanilla extract   FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL: 1 1/2 cups (300 g) sugar 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup (120 g) cream1 5 tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter2 1 tsp salt    FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE: 4 oz (120 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped3 1/2 cup (120 g) cream      Coarse sea salt, for garnish Directions: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease lightly a 9 inch tart pan. For the crust, whisk to combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg yolks and vanilla, and mix until combined. Little by little, add the dry ingredients until incorporated. The dough may look crumbly, but it should come together easily when you pinch the dough between two fingers. Press the dough out into your prepared tart pan. Prick all over with a fork, and pop into the fridge for 15-30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes, then cool completely. For the caramel, place the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook until sugar dissolves and gets a dark amber color. DO NOT stir.4 Remove the pan from the heat and add the cream. It will bubble up. Cook for about 1 or 2 minutes stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until smooth. Remove from heat and add butter and salt. Stir well until smooth. Let the caramel cool slightly before pouring over the chilled cookie crust. Refrigerate for about 4-5 hours, or preferably overnight. For the chocolate ganache, Heat the cream in a small saucepan. When the cream just begins to boil at the edges, remove from heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Let sit one minute, then stir until smooth. Pour the chocolate ganache over the caramel. Spread it evenly and refrigerate for another 2-3 hours before serving. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and serve. Notes: 1.       I used Olpers Milk Cream. 2.       I used salted butter, both for the crust and the caramel, and hence reduced the salt amount to ½ tsp in the caramel. 3.       Milk, semi-sweet chocolate, or a combination can be used too. I used Lindt 90% Cocoa which proved to be a bit too dark. 4.       DO NOT STIR when the sugar and water are cooking, otherwise the mix will clump up. Mix only after adding the cream.   Adapted from: Home Cooking Adventure