Gluten-free Chocolate Salted Caramel Tart

I was in between recipe testing a hojicha basque cheesecake and banana cake (both of which were unsuccssful), and wanted to revisit this tart which I made several years ago.

This isn’t exactly a new dessert or novel flavour combination. Since I’m not a huge chocolate person, I’m quite particular with desserts that are chocolate-forward and like it to be balanced with something else.

The most famous recipe for this chocolate salted caramel tart is by Claudia Flemming, available on New York Times. However, I tried her caramel recipe twice and both times it set too hard. I didn’t use creme fraiche as the recipe specified, though it was most likely a temperature issue or something wrong with me technique. I decided to try a different approach, this time without glucose syrup and a slightly different method of heating the cream, and it worked out much better.

The gluten-free chocolate pastry recipe is based on a shortcrust I developed a few years ago. There are a few important points to note:

• You can either make this recipe by hand (rubbing the cold butter into the flour) or using a food processor. I actually use a thermomix.
• There are quite a few flours involved that are pivotal in providing structure and achieving the right texture and colour. I hope to simplify the recipe in the future.
• The xanthan gum helps give the dough some elasticity, but can be replaced with 1 tsp of psyllium husk.
• If the dough seems dry after adding the egg, add a couple tablespoons of cold water.
• The dough should be easy to work with and when baked, does not have many cracks. If there are any cracks, I recommend patching it up with any leftover dough and the residual heat from the pastry should cook the dough.
• I’ve halved the pastry recipe below, which makes four 8cm tarts. If you re-roll the scraps, you could probably stretch it to 6 tarts.
• The pastry dough can be made up to three days in advance. If you choose to roll it out and bake the tart shells ahead of time, I recommend doing this only a day in advance.

As mentioned earlier, I had a lot of trouble with the caramel – more than I’ve ever experienced before. I remember trying a recipe by Donna Hay a while ago, and finding the caramel a bit too runny. This time I had the opposite problem. After some trial and error, I arrived on the recipe below, which sets just enough so it doesn’t ooze out but is still goey. The caramel will make enough to fill 4-5 tarts.

For the ganache layer, I use a mix of Cadbury Old Gold dark chocolate – the original (45% cocoa solids) and 70% dark choocolate. Using equal parts of each gives you a ganache with an overall cocoa content of about 58%. Of course, you can use whatever chocolate you prefer – go all 70% if you like it extra rich. I don’t recommend using milk chocolate, as it would be too sweet with the caramel.

You can decorate the tarts however you like, or just leave them plain. I dusted one half of each tart with cocoa powder and tempered chocolate (only semi-successfully) to create these textured shards.

As usual, let me know if you have any questions!

Chocolate Salted Caramel Tarts

Makes 4 x 8cm tarts.

Ingredients

Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry

• 40g brown rice flour
• 40g sorghum flour
• 30g almond meal
• 25g tapioca flour, plus extra for dusting
• 45g icing sugar
• 15g cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 60g unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1cm cubes
• 25g egg, lightly whisked (half of 1 egg)
• 1-2 tbsp cold water, if needed

Salted Caramel

• 200g caster sugar
• 80g water
• 95g thickened cream
• 40g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Ganache

• 100g thickened cream
• 80g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (around 60% cocoa solids)

Method

Chocolate Shortcrust Pastry

1. Combine the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, almond meal, tapioca flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder, and xanthan gum in a medium bowl or bowl of a food processor. Add the cubed butter and either rub in using your fingertips or, if using a food processor, pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg, and mix or process until a soft dough forms. If the dough seems dry and is not coming together, add some cold water a tablespoon at a time.
2. Tip the dough out onto a piece of cling film, and flatten it into a disc. Wrap the dough tightly in cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The dough can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.
3. Remove the pastry from the fridge. Divide into four equal parts. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper until large enough to line a 8cm loose-based tart tin. Dust with tapioca flour if the dough feels sticky. Lift pastry into the tin; press tightly into sides and trim the edge. Freeze the pastry for at least 15 minutes, and repeat for the remaining portions of dough.
4. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Cover the pastry with baking paper, fill with dried beans or rice. Blind bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges. Remove paper and beans, and bake for a further 3-5 minutes until browned on the bottom.
5. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tins, then remove and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Salted Caramel

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Cook over medium-high heat, tilting and swirling the pan occasionally (no need to stir), until the caramel reaches a deep amber colour.
2. Meanwhile, heat the cream in a small saucepan or microwave for 20-30 seconds until lukewarm. Once the caramel has reached the desired colour, remove from the heat and add the warmed cream (it will bubble up, so be careful). Whisk to combine, then add the butter, vanilla and salt. Stir until butter is melted.
3. Pour the hot caramel into the baked tart shells (I recommend placing them back in the tins), leaving about a 1cm space from the top for the chocolate ganache. Refrigerate for about one hour until carmel has set.

Chocolate Ganache

1. In a small suacepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Place the chocolate in a small bowl, and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Leave for about 1 minute, then stir until the chocolate has melted.
3. Pour the ganache over the set caramel, and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
4. Serve the tarts as is, or dust with cocoa powder and decorate with tempered chocolate shards.