Twix Bar Tart

Just in time for Valentine's Day I decided to make a rich and delicious dessert that is perfect to share with your sweetheart.  My Valentine and I will be celebrating by staying in and (what else) cooking dinner together.  We have shrimp cocktail, steaks, potatoes, veggies, olives, and this delicious Twix Bar inspired tart to share over a bottle of wine.

I have been making a lot of tarts lately as we covered pate sucree (tart dough) in my pastry class the last two weeks.  Mainly I have been making fruit tarts but for Valentine's Day I knew I wanted something chocolatey.  I have been craving caramel (if you didn't notice from my previous post) and the crust of a tart reminds of me a Twix Bar and thus this creation was born!  This varies slightly from the standard tart dough in that it uses brown sugar to get a rich, warm flavor and extra salt to bring out the saltiness of the caramel.

Pouring Hot Caramel into the Cooled Tart

This is super simple to make; you can even substitute pre-made caramels like Kraft and a pre-made sugar cookie dough from the refrigerator section if you are really short on time.  If you aren't though this is truly one of the more delicious desserts and is worth the extra hour of your time.

The tart shell is baked blind (i.e. with nothing in it) until it is golden brown.  Allow it to cool then pour your warm caramel on top.  While the caramel cools melt some chocolate chips mixed with a bit of cream and pour that on the cooled caramel.  Finish it off with some coarse sea salt for a burst of flavor and texture and serve with a nice glass of wine or coffee with your favorite Valentine.  On second thought nevermind the Valentine - don't tell them; if they know about it you'll have to share some of your precious tart with them!

Melt the Chocolate Chips Slowly to Avoid Scorching

Ingredients

For the Tart:

Yields two tart shells

2 sticks of softened, unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1/2 t. salt

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
**Don't feel like making it from scratch? Substitute sugar cookie dough from the refrigerator section at the grocery.

For the Fillings:

1 bag Kraft Caramels + 1 t. salt or 1 batch of Chewy Salted Caramel

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or a chopped dark chocolate bar

2 T. heavy cream

1 t. sea salt

Cooled Tart Shell

Directions

1) Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  This should take 2-3 minutes.  You will know you have whipped enough air into the butter and sugar when it loses its yellow hue and becomes the consistency of facial cream (the wise words of my French, male pastry teacher!).

2) Add the egg and salt and mix well.  Add flour in two batches.  Incorporating well between each batch.  When the dough has been combined wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour but up to 48 hours.  **If you are going to leave it in the refrigerator for more than a few hours double wrap the double or place it in an air tight container.  The dough can easily absorb smells from the refrigerator and can end up tasting more like left over pizza than sugar cookies!

3) When you are ready to prepare your tart pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Take the tart dough out of the refrigerator and roll on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8 inch thick.  **Turn the dough after each roll of the rolling pin and it will help to alleviate some of the sticking.  If you live in a warmer climate (lucky you) and are having trouble with sticking try setting a bag of ice on the counter for 10 minutes before you roll the dough out.  Dry the counter completely then roll the dough on the chilled surface.

Pour the Chocolate on the Caramel and Spread Quickly!

4) Place the dough in a tart pan, or a round 9-inch cake pan.  Gently press the dough down into the pan.  Be sure to press along the edges to ensure there are no bubbles.  The high butter percentage in this dough mean you do not have to worry about it sticking to the edges of the pan; smash it in there without worry!

5) Bake the tart in the 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  As you are blind baking here (baking the crust with no filling) you can use pie weights to keep the crust down.  I never have and have never had bubbles in my crust but if you want to make use out of those expensive pie weights your mom got you from William Sonoma now would be the perfect time!

6) When the tart is golden brown remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

7) After the tart has cooled prepare the caramel for the filling.  You can choose to melt a bag of Kraft caramels plus a teaspoon of salt over medium heat until just melted and pour the heated caramels into the tart shell.  If you're up for more of a challenge try making my Chewy Salted Caramel and pouring the hot candy into the tart shell.  Either way it will taste great!

8) While the caramel cools melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler (or microwave the chips until melted - I suggest microwaving at 50% power in 30 second increments to ensure it does not burn).  When the chocolate chips have melted completely add 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream and whisk together.  Pour the warm chocolate over the top of the caramel and spread with a spatula or spoon.  Sprinkle coarse sea salt on top and enjoy!  This dessert is quite rich and pairs wonderfully with a warm cup of coffee or a glass of red wine.