Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tarts

Sometimes – a day in the kitchen is all I need for a bit of relaxation…

Seriously….

It sounds strange – but stirring, chopping and of course, tasting, are very therapeutic for me! Which is why after a very VERY busy November – the first Saturday in December was spent pottering around the kitchen working my way through a few new recipes (like Asparagus Risotto or Beetroot & Coriander Dip)

HIM has a sweet tooth… and a particularly fondness for Caramel (which I later discovered was for Caramel syrup that is normally served with Créme Caramel and not the thicker version that I had envisioned… but anyhoo…)

So I decided to make this recipe … adapted from Olive Magazine (December 2011 issue) – I replaced the Agave syrup with normal golden syrup – and used milk/white chocolate combination as opposed to the dark/milk combination that they recommended. I also decided to make these into individual tart(lets) instead of one big tart – but the choice is yours!

In terms of ease – this recipe is not difficult – it just requires a good amount of muscles in your “stirring” arm – as making the caramel took about 20-30min whereby continuous stirring was required to make sure that it didn’t burn! The other thing I would change is that I would make my own pastry next time (probably using the short crust pastry recipe from my aunts lemon meringue pie) – But I would make this dessert again… for folks who truly appreciate a sweet ending (as it really is SWEEEEETTT!) 🙂

Salted Caramel & Chocolate Tart

375g pack of pastry
150g butter
150g sugar
2 tablespoons syrup
397g tin of condensed milk
1 teaspoon sea salt
150g milk chocolate
50g white chocolate

Roll out pastry & line a greased tart tin
Trim edges, prick base lightly & chill in the fridge for 30min

Line chilled pastry with parchment & baking beans/dried beans
Blind bake for 20min at 190C

Remove the parchment paper & beans – and continue to bake for another 10-15min until lightly golden
Leave to cool
Gently heat butter, sugar, syrup & condensed milk in a medium saucepan until butter has melted

Increase heat, stirring continuously until mixture starts to boil
Reduce the heat, but still continue to stir while it bubbles for 8-10min – the mixture will get thicker & darker in colour (caramel colour J)
Stir in the salt
Cool slightly before pouring into your pastry case
Leave to set at room temperature for 1hr