mix, mix…stir, stir

This week the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers are cranking out a serious dessert. Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart is the black-tie, white linen tablecloth version of a snickers bar with the added bonus of pastry crust. Chocolaty-caramely-peanutty flavors playing on a rich, buttery, impossibly crispy crust is pure dessert satisfaction.

Oddly I wasn’t motivated to through some flavor into the chocolate ganache, but while cooking the caramel my spice collection called to me. Perched right above my stove as though it was in line and next up, is my container of Alderwood Smoked Salt; Alderwood Smoked Salt Caramels are my signature confection so it was a natural choice that a pinch of this flavor magic land in my caramel just as it finished cooking.

There isn’t anything revolutionary about a chocolate ganache tart. Caramel and peanuts are certainly familiar, as is salt with caramel and chocolate. A tart shell is a blank canvas. Why then, is this dessert so absolutely engaging? My expectation of the finished product was that it would be predictably good, but not attention grabbing, spotlight stealing, and conversation haltingly good. A special synergy between the individual components launched this understated looking tart into a completely unexpected realm.

Except for making caramel, it’s even a very easy recipe. The dough is effortless thanks to the aid of a food processor, and it’s just pressed into the pan, no rolling pin needed. I replaced 2 tablespoons of the flour with cornstarch to make it extra crispy and crumbly. Ganache is no more than hot cream poured over chopped chocolate and stirred to bring it together. I used a 72% chocolate, so it was a deep rich and not-too-sweet player. Because the percentage of cocoa mass was so high in my chocolate and the ganache called for heavy cream, I only used half of the butter called for. If too much fat is worked into ganache, it can break. Had I been working with a 56% chocolate the full amount of butter would have incorporated smoothly into the mixture. If a ganache does break, blending it with an immersion blender or in a food processor can usually bring it back together.

The caramel element may seem intimidating, but the technique Dorie uses of sprinkling in a little bit of sugar at a time into the pan during the melting process is very successful. Yes, it’s molten sugar that can result in an unbelievably painful burn if you splatter it on yourself, so be careful, but give it a try. I just noticed that Dorie calls for chopping the peanuts, had I realized that while making the filling, I would have likely chosen to leave them whole because I like the visual impact and more definitive flavor experience of whole nuts.

Carla of Chocolate Moosey selected this week’s baking assignment.  If I have gushed enough to inspire you to want to try it for yourself, you can find the recipe posted on Carla’s blog.

10/2 update: After reading lots of other TWD baker’s posts about this tart I realized I left out 2 tablespoons of cream from the ganache using just 1 cup. I saw many comments about the ganache being very runny and in looking back at the recipe realized my happy accident.

Over 350 baking bloggers are baking our way thorough Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking: From My Home to Yours . 93 recipes completed 128 to go!