Chocolate Caramel Almond Tart

Chocolate Carmel Almond Tart with Almond Vanilla Whipped Cream

This is a show stopping dessert.  The homemade caramel, toasted almonds and ganache nestled in an almondy light flaky crust might just send you over the moon.  I like to sprinkle a little sea salt on top, just before serving.  I have made this a few times and it never disappoints.  Even though it has a few different steps, in can come together in a few hours.  Serve it for guests and they will think you are a genius. 

Chocolate Caramel Almond Tart

Almond Tart Crust

Ingredients for Almond Tart Crust:1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; more for rolling the dough

• 3/4 Cup Flour
• 1/4 Cup Almond Flour (optional, you can use all purpose flour instead)
• 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
• Pinch of table salt
• 6 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 Cup cold water

Directions Almond Tart Crust:

• Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl and mix.
• Add the butter pieces and cut/mix with pastry cutter
•  Sprinkle 2 Tbs. ice-cold water over the flour mixture and cut with pastry cutter until the dough just begins to come together in small, marble-size clumps. Don't over mix; the dough should not form a ball.
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape it into a thick 4-inch-diameter disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill until firm enough to roll, about 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle, lifting and rotating it often, while lightly dusting the work surface and the dough with flour as necessary. Transfer the dough to a 9-1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Gently press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. If it tears, don't fret, just patch it back together.  No one will ever know.  Roll the pin over the top of the pan to trim the excess dough. Lightly prick the bottom of the dough with a fork at 1/2-inch intervals. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm it up.
• Line the dough with aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights or dried beans. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes. Carefully lift the foil (and the weights) out of the tart pan and bake the crust until golden brown along the top edge and in some spots on the bottom, 13 to 17 minutes. Transfer the tart pan to a wire rack and cool completely.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients Caramel-Almond filling:

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Water
• 1/4 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 oz. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 3/4 cup blanched whole almonds

Directions Caramel Almond filling:

• Toast Almonds in 350 oven for 20 minutes until golden, let cool and coarsely chop and set aside.
• Fill a coffee cup with water and put a pastry brush in it; this will be used for washing down the sides of the pan to prevent crystallization.
• In a heavy-duty 2-quart saucepan, stir the sugar, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup cold water. Brush down the sides of the pan with water and pastry brush to wash away any sugar crystals that form along side of pan.
•  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan with wet pastry brush, until the mixture starts to color around the edges, 5 to 8 minutes.  Resist the temptation to stir the sugar.

• 

  Carmel and Almonds

  Gently swirl the pan once to even out the color and prevent the sugar from burning in isolated spots. Continue to cook until the sugar turns medium amber, about 30 seconds more. Once the mixture begins to color, it will darken very quickly, so keep an eye on it.  I have scorched my fair share of caramel, if you keep an eyes and nose on it you will significantly reduce your chances of getting a burnt and bitter batch of caramel.
• Immediately remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the heavy cream. The mixture will bubble up furiously. Once the bubbling has subsided, add the butter and stir until completely melted.
• Whisk in the vanilla, salt, and almonds until the nuts are completely coated.
• Pour the hot caramel mixture into the cooled tart shell, using a heatproof spatula to scrape the pot clean and distribute the nuts evenly in the shell.
• Let cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until the caramel is completely chilled, about 1 hour.

Ingredients Chocolate Ganache Topping:

• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces



Needs no explanation....

• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions Chocolate Ganache Topping:

• Put the chocolate and cream in a small saucepan over low heat and stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the butter and stir until melted and the mixture is smooth.
• Stir in the vanilla.
• Pour over the caramel layer and tilt the pan as needed to smooth the chocolate into an even layer that covers the caramel.
• Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
• Serve the tart with sea salt, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Caramel Almond Tart