Chocolate Salted Caramel Tartlets
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And…my obsession with chocolate and salted caramel continues.
When David Lebovitz posted this recipe, my aunt immediately asked me if I had been to the bakery (Little Flower Cafe) he referenced in his post. Sadly, I have not, but it is now on my list of places to try. Since David shared a recipe adapted from one of the Little Flower Cafe recipes, I figured making the recipe could tide me over until I find a friend willing to schlep to Pasadena with me.
While these tartlets are a bit time consuming, they are not only delicious but absolutely gorgeous. My coworkers were oohing and aahing over them at the office, and their small size makes it perfectly acceptable to have one or two. Or three. Or um, maybe four. They’re a great party dessert too, because they’re easy to hold and won’t last for more than a few bites. In fact, I may bring these to my friends’ annual New Years Eve party.
Chocolate Dough Ingredients
4 ounces (115g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (110g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (35g) rice flour (or use 1 cup, 140g, all-purpose flour, total)
6 tablespoons (50g) cocoa powder, natural or Dutch-process
Salted Caramel Filling Ingredients
4 ounces (115g) soft, salted butter caramels
3 tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream
Ganache Ingredients
4 1/2 ounces (130g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons (90ml) heavy cream
flaky sea salt
Preparation
- To make the tartlet dough, beat the butter and the sugar just until smooth in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or by hand. Add the egg, salt, and vanilla, and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, rice flour, and cocoa powder, then mix it into the creamed butter.
- Butter the indentations of two mini-muffin tins with 12 places in each, or one mini-muffin tin with 24 places. Pinch off pieces of dough and roll each into a 3/4-inch (2cm) ball. As you work, put the dough balls in the indentations of the muffin tins. Take your thumb and press the dough down in the center of each indentation, then use your thumb to press the dough up the sides. (If the dough is sticky, dampen your thumb very lightly with water or oil.) Freeze the pans of dough for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Bake the tartlet shells for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough appear dry and cooked. Remove from oven and use the handle of a wooden spoon to widen and smooth the inside of the little tartlet shells, pressing the dough that’s puffed up somewhat firmly against the sides. Let cool completely, then remove the tartlet shells from the muffin tins – the tip of a paring knife might be needed to help aid them out – and set them on a wire cooling rack.
- Make the caramel filling by warming the cream with the caramels in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring, until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth. Divide the caramel into each of the tartlet shells.
- Make the chocolate ganache by heating the cream in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for a minute, then whisk the chocolate into the cream until the mixture is smooth.
- Top each tartlet with some of the ganache and take a butter knife or small metal spatula and swipe off the excess. Sprinkle each tartlet with a few grains of sea salt.
Recipe by David Lebovitz.
Salted Caramel Bundt Cake
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This cake was one of the first things I ever pinned when I started spending time on Pinterest. It was also smack dab in the middle of my salty sweet phase, and there were so many recipes calling my name that this one got forgotten. Until now.
When I finally made it I was reminded of how much I love making bundts. (I think The Food Librarian is on to something.) No slicing into layers, piping, scooping, or time consuming decorating. Simply make a glaze, pour it on, and voila, you have a cake.
While the bundt was in the oven my kitchen smelled amazing, and the smell did not disappointment. The cake was rich, moist, and slightly dense, and the glaze, while U-G-L-Y was the perfect combination of salty and sweet. I brought it into the office the next day and it received rave reviews.
Cake Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup Crème fraîche
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, room temperature
Cake Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour inside a bundt pan.
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
- Using a mixer beat the butter until creamy.
- Add the sugar and continue to mix until it becomes light and pale.
- Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract and Crème fraîche 1/4 cup at a time until it is all mixed in.
- Add flour mixture in small amounts allowing each bit to mix in completely before you add more.
- After all the ingredients are mixed in spoon the batter with a spatula into the bundt mold smoothing it out on top.
Bake for 50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. - Once the cake is done let it cool for about 12 minutes before you invert it onto another rack letting it cool completely for about an hour.
Caramel Glaze Ingredients
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick of butter
Sea salt
Caramel Glaze Preparation
- Add the butter and sugar together and melt them at the same time while whisking (Medium Heat).
- As the butter and sugar start to dissolve, add the cream and continue to whisk (Medium to High Heat)
- Once it starts to froth and bubble, take it off the heat while still whisking.
- Pour glaze into a glass container or bowl and set aside.
- Once the cake has cooled, pour the caramel over the top covering it in a decorative fashion.
- Sprinkle the top with sea salt and serve!
Recipe adapted from The Tasteful Life.
Oreo and Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
I know. The name alone is enough to give you a heart attack. Picture it–a chocolate chip cookie topped with Double Stuf Oreos, then a layer of caramel, then finally topped with even more chocolate chip cookie.
Insanity. And a huge hit with my coworkers. These cookies were gone well before the end of the day, and there is photographic evidence of everyone’s caloric intake floating around Instagram and Twitter.
They’re crazy sweet, but a fun treat that people will definitely enjoy! Thanks Recipe Girl!
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
24 Double Stuf Oreos
1 cup or so of jarred caramel
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
- Prepare the cookie dough: Place the butter and sugars in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Beat well. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add to the butter mixture. Beat until everything is well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Prepare the bars: Using half of the batch of cookie dough, place dollops into the prepared pan and press with greased hands to press and make an even layer in the bottom of the pan. (I used an offset spatula.)
- Set the Oreos on top of the dough in four rows of 6. Drizzle caramel on top–about 1 cup–over and around the Oreos. Spoon small dollops of the remaining cookie dough on top. Don’t worry if the dollops don’t completely cover the Oreos/caramel. The cookie dough will spread out as you bake it.
- Bake until lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely (I put the pan in the fridge), then cut into 32 bars.
Recipe from Recipe Girl.
Chocolate Salted Caramel Bars
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I was going to visit friends with a newborn, and wanted to bring a sweet treat. Since I didn’t have a chance to get the grocery store, I had to make do with what was already in my pantry. This recipe called for the basics. And yes, I usually happen to have jars of salted caramel in pantry–you can blame Trader Joe’s for that.
The reviews for the recipe were all stellar, so I was expecting something pretty amazing and was slightly disappointed. The bar is chewy, but the chocolate definitely overpowers and the caramel isn’t very noticeable. These are OK, but not so incredible that I felt the need to steal half of the pan for myself.
Ingredients
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 jar (12 ounces) salted caramel
Preparation
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Set half aside for topping.
Press the remaining crumb mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips.
Whisk caramel topping and remaining flour until smooth; drizzle over top. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours before cutting. Yield: about 4-1/2 dozen.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
Chocolate Caramel Oat Bars
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Not to bore you with excuses as to why I haven’t been blogging lately, but I’ve been busy! The weather is gorgeous, I’m going out with friends, and I have an awesome new guinea pig boyfriend! (So far he has liked everything I’ve baked, he’s a good guy.)
Anyway, as you probably know by now, I love anything oat, chocolate, and caramel so I was excited to try these. Apparently something has happened to my taste buds (too much sour candy?) because I didn’t find these terribly exciting. I tried them warm, chilled, and at room temp and while I didn’t think they were bad, I didn’t think they were amazing either. However–my boyfriend and coworkers thought they were delicious, and all day at work people were saying they definitely ranked up there when it comes to treats I’ve brought into the office. So ignore me and make these. You will make people happy.
Oat Base Ingredients
3/4 cup (3.4 oz) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups quick cooking oats
1 generous pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
6 oz (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup chopped chocolate
Filling Ingredients
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups Kraft caramel bits or 32 unwrapped caramels
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch square metal pan with non-stick foil.
Mix the flour, oats, salt, baking soda and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add butter and stir with a spoon or mix with fingers until mixture is thoroughly mixed – dough should just start to come together. Reserve a little less than half of the mixture and put it in the refrigerator. Press remaining oat mixture into bottom of pan and bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
Make caramel filling. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the caramel bits and stir to coat with butter. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until caramel is melted. Pour it over the base.
Sprinkle chilled reserved crumb mixture over top and bake for 10-12 minutes or until top layer is cooked. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Let cool completely, then lift from pan and cut with a Chef’s knife.
Makes 16 squares.
Recipe adapted from Cookie Madness.
