Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

This Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart has a chocolate shortcrust base, with a velvety smooth salted caramel, and finally a rich chocolate ganache.

This is definitely a dessert to get excited by, especially if you’re a a salted caramel or chocolate fan. Even better if you’re both!

Bring this chocolate tart out at any dinner party or any celebration, and I guarantee you’ll have some very happy guests.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

I’m a huge chocolate tart fan. The rich chocolate ganache paired with flaky, buttery, chocolate shortcrust pastry is a combination of decadence and indulgence.

But I don’t see why the decadence has to stop there. A layer of salted caramel is the perfect addition to an otherwise already perfect dessert. Beneath the layer of melt-in-the-mouth chocolate ganache, you’ll find a just-set layer of salted caramel.

Sweet and salty is always the way to go.

This Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart has 3 DELICIOUS layers

1. Chocolate shortcrust pastry – a flaky and buttery tart pastry that we’re making from scratch. We’re also adding in some cocoa powder for an extra whack of chocolate flavour
2. Salted caramel – a just-set layer of salted caramel that adds the perfect salty sweetness to complement the bitter and rich chocolate. We’re also making this from scratch too, and it takes less than 10 minutes!
3. Chocolate ganache – a rich melt-in -the-mouth chocolate layer that has the texture of a soft chocolate truffle

We’re making the chocolate shortcrust pastry from scratch

We’re making each layer from scratch here. And they all tend to be things that I’ve heard people say they’re often nervous about making.

I’m breaking down the steps in as much detail as possible to guide you through these 3 elements. In the hope that you’ll come out the other side with a new found confidence, questioning why you ever felt nervous in the first place.

The chocolate shortcrust pastry is made with just flour, cocoa powder, sugar, butter, milk, and a pinch of salt. I make the entire dough in a food processor and then pop it straight into the fridge to chill.

Making homemade salted caramel is easier than you think

Making a caramel from scratch takes under 10 minutes. That’s honestly it, it’s a quick process that just requires a bit of whisking and mixing.

And the basis of every caramel is just three ingredients, sugar, butter, and cream. Vanilla is always a welcomed addition and I do love a good hint of salt to balance the sweetness.

The ratio of caramel to chocolate matters

Personally, I love and appreciate an equal layer of both. This way you get a good mouthful of caramel and that chocolate truffle-like ganache at the same time.

My pet peeve is when the chocolate ganache is just a tiny and thin layer on top of the caramel. We deserve more. However you can totally adapt the measurements to scale up or scale down based on the ratio that you would prefer.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart serving suggestions

I’ve had friends and family ask for a little dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream on the side. If you’re serving it with whipped cream, whip it to soft peaks and I’d recommend leaving it unsweetened or just very lightly sweetened.

For ice cream fans, a scoop of some good quality vanilla ice cream would be a treat. However if you prefer a bit more balance, I think a scoop of espresso ice cream works wonders here. The bitterness of coffee balances the sweetness and richness from the tart.

Or if you want to enjoy it the way that I do, a shot of espresso to sip on whilst you indulge in this tart is truly a magnific combination.

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients you’ll need for this Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Cocoa powder – this is pure cocoa powder, please don’t use the hot chocolate powders as they contain quite a few other ingredients and are often more milk powder and sugar based than actual cocoa
• Caster sugar – this is a more finely ground white granulated sugar. we use caster sugar here as it mixes in more readily. You can make your own by blitzing white sugar in a blender for a few seconds (this is what I do)
• Double cream/heavy whipping cream – this is sold as double cream in the UK and heavy whipping cream in the US
• Chocolate – use your favourite slab of high quality chocolate here. That’s going to be the entire flavour of the ganache, so make sure it’s a bar you really, really like. I personally love using 70% dark chocolate for this as I like the bitter notes for balance

The KEY tips to getting this recipe right

• Don’t roll out the pastry too thin – this risks the pastry breaking and tearing when rolling and transferring on top of the tart tin. Don’t go any thinner than 3mm
• Use a silicon spatula for the caramel, not a metal spoon – when melting the sugar, gently move it around with a silicon spatula to ensure an even caramelisation. Metal utensils make sugar seize and crystalise, which is what we want to avoid
• Don’t overheat the cream for the ganache – if the cream is too hot, it can make the ganache split and turn grainy. You just want the sides of the cream to be steaming in the pan, it should not be at a simmer or boil

How to make this Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

How to make the chocolate shortcrust pastry

1) Add flour, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar to a food processor. You can also do this without a food processor if you wanted to, just mix in a bowl

2) Blitz/mix everything together

3) Add in cold cubes of butter (I place the cubes of butter in the freezer for 30 minutes beforehand to ensure they stay cold)

4) Blitz till the butter is well incorporated throughout. Either a sandy texture or small lumps of butter throughout is what we’re aiming for. If mixing by hand, use a pastry blender or fork

5) Add in the cold milk

6) Pulse/mix briefly until incorporated

7) You’ll know it’s done when the dough is cohesive

8) Turn the pastry dough out onto the counter

9) Try to avoid kneading, just gather and squash together to form a cohesive dough, then flatten into a disc

10) Wrap tightly in baking paper or cling film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours

How to roll out and blind bake pastry

11) Flour the chilled dough and the counter

12) Start rolling out the dough from the midpoint down (in one direction), rotate the dough and repeat. Keep rotating and rolling in one direction to avoid cracks

13) The dough should be no thinner than 3mm and should be about 2 inches larger than the tart tin

14) Flour the dough and your rolling pin, and roll the dough around the rolling pin

15) Carefully unroll the dough over your tart tin

16) Press the dough into the crevices and trim off the excess with a sharp knife. Trim off away from the tin to ensure a clean cut. I could have actually left my dough thicker!

17) Brush off any excess flour then dock all over with a fork. Cover with baking paper or clingfilm, then refrigerate for 30-60 minutes (this will reduce shrinkage post baking)

18) Place the tart tin onto a larger baking tray, this will help with placing it into the oven and taking it out as tart tins can be fiddly. Scrunch up some baking paper and place on top, followed by some baking beans/dried beans/dried rice to weight it down (this is called blind baking)

19) Place the tart shell into the oven to bake

20) Finally, remove the paper and rice just over half way into the bake and place the pastry back into the oven to finish. It should lift off with ease without any sticking – if it sticks then the pastry is underbaked. Place back into the oven for another 5 minutes and then try to remove the paper and rice

Once baked, allow to cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely

How to make salted caramel

1) For the caramel, start by melting the sugar in a saucepan. Avoid metal utensils here as they can cause the caramel to crystalise

2) I like to take my caramel to a deep amber colour for maximum flavour

3) Once the caramel reaches a deep amber colour, add in the butter

4) Followed by the double cream/heavy cream

5) Don’t forget to add in some vanilla bean paste/extract and salt

6) Keep whisking and mixing until you’re left with a silky, velvety caramel sauce. You may find the caramel seizes and crystalises when adding the cream, keep whisking over a low heat to help it dissolve. You can also place a lid over the saucepan and whisk every 2 minutes until it’s fully smooth again

7) Allow the caramel to cool for around 5 minutes, it should still be pourable but just not piping hot. Pour over the chocolate pastry shell and allow to come to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate till completely set

How to make the chocolate ganache

1) For the ganache, start by placing the cream on a medium low to low heat. We just want to see gentle bubbling and steam around the outside. If the cream is too hot, it will cause your ganache to split and turn grainy

2) Pour the cream over the chocolate

3+4) Allow to sit for 1 minute, then slowly start whisking the cream and chocolate together. I find the most effective way is to start whisking in the middle and then slowly start working outwards

Once it looks smooth, switch to a spatula just to make sure everything has been really well incorporated and no chocolate is left stuck to the bowl

5) Pour the warm ganache over the chilled and set caramel

6) Immediately tilt the tin around to spread into an even layer – this will start to thicken fairly quickly so work fast here. Then place back into the fridge to set completely

7) Finish with a dusting of cocoa powder and flaky sea salt right before serving

Frequently asked questions

Can this Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart be made vegan?

Yes it can, I’d recommend substituting the butter in the pastry and caramel for a plant based butter block. The milk in the pastry can be substituted with any plant based milk though I find soya milk always works the best for me.

The cream in the caramel and the ganache can be substituted with a can of coconut milk that has a high percentage of coconut (preferably a minimum of 75%). I’ve made vegan chocolate ganache with coconut milk about 30 times at this point and I can assure you there is no coconut favour.

I have a Dark Chocolate Tart recipe that is made with coconut milk and completely plant-based (even the pastry!). And it’s just pure rich dark chocolate.

How long will the tart keep? And what’s the best way to store it?

It will keep for 4-5 days, however it’s best served within the first 1-2 days. The tart shell starts to lose some of its flakiness after day 2.

Store leftovers in an air tight container and keep refrigerated. Bring up to room temperature when serving.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy baking!