Salted Caramel Pecan Tart Recipes

CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL PECAN TART

Steps:

• Crust: Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until combined. Beat butter with confectioners' sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk and beat until combined. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined and crumbly (do not overmix). Pat dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 days, or freeze up to 1 month.
• On a lightly floured piece of parchment, roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. With a paring knife, trim dough flush with rim; refrigerate until firm, 30 minutes.
• Blind-bake crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prick bottom of tart all over with a fork. Bake until set and dough is dry, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Filling: Combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring gently, until sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until syrup comes to a boil, occasionally washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystals from forming. Cook until syrup is amber in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Carefully add heavy cream (caramel will steam and spatter). Add butter, vanilla, salt, and chocolate; stir until melted and smooth. Add pecans; stir until combined. Transfer mixture to tart crust. Let stand until set and cool, about 2 hours. Tart can be served room-temperature or refrigerated, uncovered, up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes and sprinkle with flaky salt before serving.

PECAN SANDIE CARAMEL TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350˚. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring once, 10 minutes; let cool. Set aside 1 cup perfect pecan halves for topping.
• Transfer the remaining 1 cup pecans to a food processor with the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt; process until the nuts are finely ground. Add the butter and egg yolk and pulse until the dough is moistened and starts to clump together. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pan. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Line the crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until firm and dry around the edges, about 25 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights and continue baking until the crust is lightly browned all over, about 15 more minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Combine the granulated sugar, golden syrup and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; stir until dissolved. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the mixture turns a deep amber color, thickens slightly and registers 300˚ on a candy thermometer, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the diced butter, 1 piece at a time, until smooth and thickened. Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Let cool slightly, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.
• Pour the filling into the cooled crust and arrange the reserved pecans on top. Refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours or overnight.

MARY'S SALTED CARAMEL-PECAN BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil; spray with cooking spray.
• Arrange pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven, stirring halfway through, until pecans are toasted and fragrant, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Arrange graham crackers in a single layer on the prepared jelly roll pan.
• Combine brown sugar, butter, and cream in a heavy saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Fold in pecans. Pour pecan mixture over graham crackers, spreading to coat.
• Bake in the preheated oven until topping is bubbling, 10 to 11 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with salt. Transfer coated crackers and aluminum foil to a wire rack to cool, about 30 minutes. Break into bars.

SEA-SALTED CHOCOLATE & PECAN TART

Steps:

• To make the pastry, cream the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon or in an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the egg yolks and 35ml water and mix well until all the liquid has been incorporated. Gradually mix in the flour and cocoa powder until a paste is formed. It will be quite a soft dough.
• Wrap the pastry in foil, flatten it with your hand and chill for 1 hr. The pastry can be made two days ahead, though in this case, you may want to remove it from the fridge for a few minutes before rolling to soften it.
• Sprinkle your work surface with a light dusting of flour and roll out the pastry until it's about 5mm thick. Line a 23cm tart tin with the pastry using the rolling pin to help you lift it over, pushing the pastry well into the edges and folding the excess over the top. Trim off the excess. Chill for 15 mins to relax the pastry and to help prevent it from shrinking during cooking.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the tart with a sheet of baking parchment (scrunch it up first to soften it), then tip in baking beans, rice or lentils and bake blind for 15 mins. Lift out the beans and bake for a further 10-12 mins until the base is dry. Allow to cool.
• To make the filling, put all the ingredients in a glass or metal mixing bowl, place it over a pan of very hot water and allow them to melt together until glossy and thick. Pour into the cooled pastry case and chill for 4 hrs or overnight.
• For the topping, heat the sugar in a saucepan on a medium heat, tilt the pan rather than stirring, until you have an even golden liquid caramel. Add the salt and mix well with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Pour in the pecans and, mixing thoroughly, quickly pour the mixture on to a piece of baking parchment and spread out with the back of the spoon. Allow to cool thoroughly, then break or chop up into shards or chunky pieces to sprinkle over the ganache.
• Cut the tart with a hot, wet knife for perfect, restaurant-quality slices. Recipe adapted from Adventures with Chocolate by Paul A Young (£14.99, Kyle Books). Photographs © Anders Schønnemann.