Daring Bakers Challenge - Milk Chocolate & Caramel Tart

I had heard they existed. I saw bits about them on other blogs that I admired. A collection of the coolest food bloggers on the web gathering together to bake something that you would not typically undertake on a rainy Saturday afternoon at home. They even have a patron saint, St. Honore, keeper of bakers and pastry chefs. I aspired to join them, to bake as I have never baked before. But I was apprehensive. Would my baking measure up? What if there was a secret handshake? I persevered and decided to undertake the first monthly challenge, the Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart. This is a daunting recipe that includes a crisp chocolate shortbread crust topped by a smooth caramely base, followed by a layer of milk chocolate mousse and finished with crunchy caramel candy bits.

I was leery about starting this. It sounded really sweet and I am not super confident about my caramel making skills. But after three weeks of procrastination, I finally got to work and discovered that my unease was mostly for naught. As I ground nuts and assembled my mise-en-place for the crust, Lovie commented that my set-up looked just "like Alton Brown's". Fortified by this wonderful compliment, I forged ahead. The crust went together easily and while it chilled overnight, I dreamed of the masterpiece I would create come morning.

Ever notice how reality always steps in to make sure that you don't get too cocky? Well, Reality paid me a visit early the next morning. Remember the kitchen gadget that was all the rage a couple of Christmases ago? That cookie sheet-like piece of metal that could thaw frozen meat in 10 minutes flat by magically sucking the cold out of it? Well, this same law of thermodynamics exists in my kitchen. The top of my island baking center is powder coated sheet metal. Great for kneading bread, not so great for pie crusts, sugar cookies or in this case, Chocolate Shortbread Tart Crust. The crust went from chilled to squishy in about three minutes. The more I rolled, the softer it got. I even scraped it off and rechilled it, but to no avail. In the end, after all of the patching, my crust looked more like a puzzle than a tart. But once it was finally in the oven, things began looking up. My caramel melted and darken up beautifully, even using the tricky dry method. I added warm Cream Fraiche, eggs and some flour and my caramel layer was done. The mousse layer went well too, with melted milk chocolate and whipped egg whites. I finished up by making hard caramel candy bits to sprinkle over the top. Finally assembled, I was pretty proud of my tart. It looked great and the tastes I had indulged in during the process were fabulous. I had made a small tart for Lovie and a larger one that was going to be my contribution at a pot luck that evening. I cut Lovie's tart open and had a bite, and another, and another and another. She almost didn't get to try it. It was so good. 

Later at the pot-luck, my tart was a raving success! Set right next to the Velveeta-green bean casserole and the Stouffer's Lasagna, everybody loved it. I got nearly as many compliments as the gal who brought the Velveeta casserole, although no one asked for my recipe. Good thing they didn't - not everybody can  be a DARING BAKER! Bwahahahahahah.....   

And so now that I can proudly claim to be a member of the loving and talented baking community known as the Daring Bakers, I would like to encourage you to check out the blogroll on the sidebar and visit some of my comrades de cuisine. I think you will find some fun and creative cooks to brighten your day and enlighten your cooking.

I shall close with this famous fraternal quote -

"Thank you Sir, may I have another?

Daring Bakers Challenge #9

Milk Chocolate Caramel Tart

Crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 2/3 oz powdered sugar

1 oz ground hazelnuts

1 egg

7 oz cake flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 tablespoons cocoa powder

In the bowl of a food processor, cream the butter. Add the powdered sugar and hazelnuts and mix. Add the egg and mix. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and mix well. Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic and chill overnight. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9" tart pan with the pastry dough and blind bake for 15 minutes.

Filling

1/2 lb. Chocolate shortbread pastry

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 1/4 cups whipping cream

1/2 lb. milk chocolate

In a small saucepan, heat the creme fraiche to just under a boil and keep warm In a larger saucepan. Caramelize 1 cup of sugar until it turns a golden caramel color. Add the warm cream and whisk to combine. Let cool ten minutes. Add the butter and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs and extra yolk with the flour. Mix well. Pour into the caramel mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread in the tart shell and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Prepare the chocolate mousse. Whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Melt the chocolate in the microwave and fold it gently into the whipped cream. Pour mousse over the caramel base and smooth with a spatula. Chill for one hour.

Caramel Bits

Melt remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan until it reaches an amber color. Pour onto wax paper and let cool. Smash into small bits and sprinkle them over the tart. Serve to someone you want to impress!

Comments

[Laurie]

Your tart looks great! And I know it tasted fantastic. It was my rookie month as well. And I loved every second of making this tart. I cant wait to see what is next. xo

[Ivonne]

You have nothing to worry about it! Your tart is magnificent ... and congratulations on completing your first Daring Baker challenge!

[Lisa]

Way to go, Chelsea!! Yay! I so would have asked for your recipe and THEN asked for the Velveeta one. teeee!

I'm so happy you enjoyed yourself.. looking forward to next month! =)

xoxo

[Aoife]

This is just a hunch, but i think your tart have been a little better than the Stouffer's. It certainly looks better anyway! Was using egg whites easier than whipped cream? I'd imagine they wouldn't deflate as easily.

[Aoife]

This is just a hunch, but i think your tart have been a little better than the Stouffer's. It certainly looks better anyway! Was using egg whites easier than whipped cream? I'd imagine they wouldn't deflate as easily.

[Aoife]

This is just a hunch, but i think your tart have been a little better than the Stouffer's. It certainly looks better anyway! Was using egg whites easier than whipped cream? I'd imagine they wouldn't deflate as easily.

[Mary]

Hee hee... I remember that metal tray that thawed meat. I even bought one about 10 years ago from the "As Seen On TV" section at Target.

Velveeta and Stouffers can't touch your homemade masterpiece of a tart.

[Amanda @ Little Foodies]

You did a wonderful job! Your pastry looks so neat. Mine was a little more rustic looking - tee hee!! Congratulations on your first challenge.

[Amanda @ Little Foodies]

You did a wonderful job! Your pastry looks so neat. Mine was a little more rustic looking - tee hee!! Congratulations on your first challenge.

[veron]

Your tart looks great chelsea! I had my apprehensions about caramel too, that's why I chose this challenge ... to face the hot sugar monster!

[Patricia Scarpin]

You did a great job and how amazing to see how much you like being part of the group, Chelsea!

[ilva]

What a beautiful debut! A very worthy memeber of the Db indeed!

[maria~]

Hey girl! I encountered the same problems with the sticky crust too. I also ended up doing a patch-up job mostly on the sides ;)

[Wendy]

Your tart looks great. I enjoyed your humor. I used Morven's tip to roll the dough between two silpats. I never thought of that before (I've rolled on parchment or plastic with okay results). I bet someone will be requesting the recipe soon. Wendy

[Deborah]

Your tart is gorgeous!! Congrats on successfully finishing your first challenge!

[peabody]

LOl- nearly as many compliments as the Velveta casserole...oh my, who are these people?
Excellent job.

[Chelsea]

Thanks for all of your nice comments. Aoife - you read this closer than I did, because I did use the whipped cream per the recipe, not the egg whites that I wrote about. Thanks for catching my typo - I'll have to do a better job of proofreading!

[Amy]

Your tart looks great and the caramel filling looks perfect! Yummy!

[Jenny]

I'm sure your tart was miles better than the Velveeta casserole! People either knew they had no chance to make it as wonderfully as you did, or they thought you bought it! Ha laugh at those doubters! You are a Daring Baker!

[Tanna]

Almost as many compliments as the velveeta! Now that is funny!
Welcome to this wonderful group, I can see by your first challenge, you totally belong here Chelsea!!

[barbbara]

I'm still working my way around all the DB tarts. I really enjoyed the challenge event hough I didn't personally like the pie. Your layers worked out well. Much nicer than mine.

[Chris]

Great Tart, Chelsea!

[breadchick]

Fantastic post and great job on your first challenge!! Welcome to our little group!!!