chocolate caramel tart with grey sea salt

this morning, with my eyes barely open,

i did one of my favorite saturday morning activities:

i stayed in bed, smelling the coffee downstairs

and listening to the food network.

then, tyler told me his plans for the

next 30 minutes:

beef bourguignon (yum - even as a non-meat eater

i can appreciate the unbelievable-ness of beef

bourguignon) and poached pears (yum, again)

in chocolate sauce. wait, what?

why would he do that to the poor pear?

i asked larry with my eyes still shut.

i went on a rant about how people

always want to add chocolate to

things they shouldn't and they just

can't leave well enough - like a perfectly

fragrant poached pear - alone.

as larry went to go get the coffee,

i thought about fruity desserts versus

chocolate desserts and how i normally

pick the former to make

unless i'm cooking specifically for

someone else. and, that i still pull

and save chocolate recipes for

special occasions, even though

i would never ordinarily make

them, were i only baking for myself.

(however, i can't even think of the

last time i baked just for me. do

people do that?)

take this chocolate caramel tart

with grey sea salt that i made

for my father's birthday last week.

i have mentally bookmarked this

recipe three times:

first, in saveur.

second, when written about in lottie and doof.

and third, when last night's dinner told the story

of her wedding cake and anniversary celebration.

really, though, every time i have

the opportunity to make a dessert,

there are so many things i want to make,

like cookies, fruit crumbles and summer puddings.

but, when my sisters and i decided to

host dinner for my father's birthday last week,

before i decided on

the arugula, grape and gorgonzola salad,

the turkey meatballs with penne

or the cheese and scallion toasts,

i claimed the tart as the official birthday dessert.

after checking with my sisters to make

sure that my father wouldn't be offended,

considering that he would be

served a tart on his birthday

instead of a traditional frosted cake,

i headed to lottie and doof to print

the recipe. and then i paid closer

attention to the story behind his tart

and the comments that followed the recipe:

the crust that was hard to roll out,

the caramel that was possibly delicious

or possibly a little flavorless and the

ganache that seemed straightforward.

and most notably, it was not the saveur version,

but instead, the one published in diner's journal.

it lead me to closely examine the saveur version,

realizing that this one called for using

a candy thermometer on the caramel - something

i never do unless marshmallows are involved -

and that the crust was a mix and press,

not a roll and fit. hmmm.

my dad's birthday was on a saturday.

this tart, simple, but with lots of steps

and lots of chilling, made me realize

that i better start on friday. but by

friday afternoon, when i went shopping,

i still wasn't sure which version to make.

luckily, a lot of the ingredients were

already in the house and the discrepancy

between the two - quantity-wise - wasn't

so crazy that i had to make a decision

before buying everything.

after a lot of time stuck in jersey shore traffic

trying just to get home,

playing the recipes over and over in my head,

i had a plan:

saveur crust.

lottie and doof caramel.

saveur ganache.

fleur de sel a la lottie and doof.

the crust

was simple enough to

mix together,

if you don't count the

botched separated egg.

sure, it wasn't gorgeous

when pressed into the pan,

but i reasoned that people

(read: my family) would only

really see the outer crust.

and, i believed

that even that top part

would look

better after baking.

i don't know why.

so, i chilled the dough,

pierced it all over with a fork

and baked it, hoping

that i wouldn't regret a stay

in the oven sans dried beans

or pie weights.

with about four minutes left

to bake, i noticed a huge

bubble. by the time i pulled

it out, there were four more.

but, luck was on my side.

i grabbed the camera to take

a picture of my deformed crust

and by the time i got the lens in focus,

all the bubbles had deflated.

once the crust was cooled,

i set to work on the caramel,

by far the part of the tart i was

most nervous about. caramel,

as i'm sure you know, can go from

sugar water to a burnt sticky mess in

the blink of an eye and i was determined

to pour it into the crust while it

was still in the amber family.

this was one of the main reasons i

chose not to use the saveur caramel -

many reviewers mentioned that theirs

burnt while waiting to reach the correct

temperature. i only wanted to make

this filling once and i've had a feeling for a while

that my candy thermometer is slightly off,

in need of recalibration. i'd much prefer

a recipe that goes by color, even if it meant

more opportunity for personal error.

and while its true that the color jumped quickly

from clear to lightly golden to dark brown,

i'm glad i used this method. there was

an extra tablespoon of creme fraiche

and a little extra heavy cream, too.

two things that i thought would help

me possibly mellow out the flavor

and potentially firm consistency if i went

too far while simmering. at the last minute,

i worried that it would be too bland and

i sprinkled in a few pinches of kosher salt,

which i'm glad about, but i wish i had had

the guts to add even more.

otherwise, i obeyed the recipes.

i held my breath as i poured the caramel

into the crust, cringing as the hot liquid

reached the very top of the crust. and then,

as luck would have it - or a well written

recipe would indicate - it fit perfectly.

i let it cool, then placed the whole thing

in the fridge, ignoring it until morning.

a minute later, i was jumping up

and down in the kitchen. it was weird.

but, i can admit, completely

true to form.

i planned to use fleur de sel on top

of the tart because that was all i owned.

i really preferred the idea of grey sea salt

called for in the saveur recipe -

doesn't it sound all glamorous and

delicious? - but i refused to buy an extra

salt for one recipe. then, as i opened a

cabinet to put the vanilla extract away,

i saw a container and turned it around,

curious of its contents. grey sea salt.

in spite of having a much more intimate

relationship with everything i own

thanks to our recent move - i had no

idea whatsoever that it was part of my spice

collection.

(seriously, i just looked here

and i still can't spot the tin.) i texted my

sister who really tried her best to act

like she didn't think i was crazy and like

she really was just as excited by

grey sea salt as i was.

when i got home from food shopping

the next morning, i made the ganache -

the only part i wasn't worried about.

i smoothed it over the tart the best

i could, wishing at the last minute

that i had used my offset spatula

instead of the regular one, and placed it

in the fridge to set. steps, people.

they're your best friend when baking.

hours later,

i enlisted one sister to distract my father

and the other to help me remove the

pan's removable bottom from the tart.

we got the cake plate ready and while

i did my best to explain to erin why

we did have to remove the bottom, i grabbed

two spatulas. but, this is one sturdy tart.

with just a little jiggle, the crust was free

and it was so not scary to place it

on the cake plate. instead of sprinkling

the individual pieces, i sprinkled

(grey!) salt over the entire top.

after happy birthday was sung,

i took my millionth deep breath

and cut into the tart. i had read -

that for some, in both versions -

the caramel had pooled out

immediately after

the first slice was removed.

but, luck was really on my side with this

dessert - the tart cut into perfect

wedges and while the caramel bulged

a bit, it stayed put, wedged firmly

between the chocolate crust and

the chocolate ganache.

i asked (ok, made) everyone to wait a few

minutes before digging in, thinking

that while it was best sliced cold,

it was probably best enjoyed with

the caramel slightly softer.

and, then the ganache began to slide

off the top, so i started yelling,

eat, eat, eat! i'm a little difficult.

in one of the reviews (have i started

to sound like an article in cook's illustrated yet?),

i had read that this tart was basically,

a glorified twix bar. and in some

ways, that's true. but, a twix

bar doesn't boast crystals of

salt and it wouldn't mark

a special occasion at most

dinner tables. the other thing

about a twix is that a bite

doesn't come with crazy high

expectations, like this dessert did.

everyone said they liked it - i

even got a this is my type of dessert

from erin and a reassurance from my

father that he was ok eating a tart

instead of a cake on his birthday.

but, i wanted a little more oomph.

sure, it was pretty and rich and

chocolaty. but, i wished for more

salt in the crust and caramel

and a couple

splashes of vanilla extract in the

latter. larry says often that i have

high expectations and that the tart

was good. here's the thing:

i was hoping for a dessert

that would not just be good,

but one that would be remarkably

memorable.

i wanted the kind of dessert

that would maybe even make

a poached pear lover add a pool

of chocolate sauce because she

remembers that the last time

she had a chocolate dessert,

it was life changing.

but, like i said, i sometimes

have high expectations.

chocolate caramel tart with grey sea salt

adapted from saveur, diner journal and lottie and doof

i need to say that i think this was a very good tart. it's just that if i make this again, i would follow my instincts and up the salt in the crust (and use table salt instead of the coarser kosher), then add salt and vanilla extract into the caramel. i think this was one of those cases in which a few extras go a very long way. the saveur version called for chilling five hours in between each step; the diner's journal version calls for chilling until firm. i followed the former's advice, which while perfectly fine was probably somewhat unnecessary.

oh, and as for sprinkling the salt on each slice, i understand. i loved the visual of adding it to the entire thing. but, four days later, when larry offered me a bite of his leftover slice, i had already forgotten about the visual, and really, the salt altogether. it had melted into the chocolate, creating a slick top that offered a surprisingly salty bite.

crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

5 tablespoons unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and softened

10 tablespoons (1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons) confectioners' sugar

2 egg yolks, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

caramel:

1/2 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

2 tablespoons creme fraiche

ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

grey sea salt, coarse sea salt or fleur de sel

in bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and salt.

in separate large bowl using hand mixer, beat butter and sugar 2 minutes, or until mixture is combine, pale and fluffy. add yolks and vanilla extract; mix to combine. stir in dry ingredients, just until combined. place dough in 9" fluted tart pan with removable bottom; press evenly into bottom and up sides of pan. chill in fridge 30 minutes. meanwhile, heat oven to 350˚f.

place tart pan on baking sheet; pierce crust all over with fork; bake 20 minutes, or until firm, dry and fully cooked through. transfer to rack; let cool.

in large saucepot, stir together water, sugar and corn syrup. cook over medium-high heat 10-20 minutes, or until mixture reaches a medium-amber color, swirling occasionally. (you ultimately want a caramel that's a bit darker and deeper in color, but it does continue to cook after you remove it from the heat.) remove saucepot from heat. carefully drizzle in heavy cream, then the butter, then the creme fraiche (the mixture will bubble). stir until smooth. pour the caramel into the cooled crust. let sit until cool and firm; transfer to fridge and chill 4 hours, or until very firm.

place chopped chocolate in small bowl. in small saucepot, bring heavy cream to a boil. pour cream over chocolate; let sit 3 minutes. using spatula, slowly stir mixture, starting in the center, until the cream and chocolate come together. pour ganache over tart; use spatula to spread and smooth. chill tart for several hours.

when ready to serve, remove the sides and bottom of the tart pan (trick: place the tart on top of a large can and gently wiggle off the side). cut tart into wedges; sprinkle with salt. wait 5-10 minutes before serving slices.

a week in cupcakes: july 11

growing up,

july was always a big birthday

month for our family.

from the 14th to the 21st,

we had three birthdays:

first blair's,

with my dad's in the middle

and my mom's finishing

up the week.

our house was birthday central:

weathered deflated balloons

mixed with cheery new ones,

cards on every counter

and

the fridge crammed with

three types of cake.

it hasn't changed -

we're still celebrating

birthday upon

birthday,

regardless of the fact

that we're all adults

and now, the cakes

and cards are spread out

amongst several houses.

and, we've all added more people

with july birthdays into the mix.

my friend, colleen

(birthday: july 2nd)

had a big

birthday earlier in the month

and celebrated a week later

with a party at a local brewery

(party: july 11).

colleen and her husband, christian,

live in pennsylvania,

and we're in new jersey -

they were nice enough to let

us stay with them.

that, combined with the

fact that it was a birthday

(and i love any reason for

celebration),

confirmed that i had to

bake for the ocassion.

my fallback,

always seems to be cookies -

and i was heading there,

until i saw a recipe in

smitten kitchen's archives,

for cupcakes,

clearly reminiscent of college:

chocolate whisky

and beer cupcakes.

i don't know why i wanted to

make them.

yes, colleen and i met in college.

but, i was never a big drinker. never.

i nursed a beer or two all night

long, often staring at the clock

(i later learned that i was the only

one in my group of friends who actually

knew there was a clock in the bar)

until it was time to go home.

the two times in my life

that i actually drank an irish carbomb,

the drink that these cupcakes were based on,

i will blame on complete coercion.

after four years of saying no

to most shots,

to schlitz and slide,

to waking up to boone's and bagels,

i think i was tired of watching everyone else

have fun and also,

slightly sentimental enough about

the impending ending of college

to think that this would give me

an added memory.

and so, at senior week in dewey beach, delaware,

after months of prodding,

i agreed to drink:

1/2 pint of guinness with

a shot glass of

bailey's and jameson dropped in.

everyone swore to me

that it tasted like a milkshake,

and gave the very clear warning:

you actually have to shoot this.

if you drink it slow, it will curdle.

so i did. it wasn't terrible.

my next and last one,

was one week

later, the night before

graduation, at the tally ho,

the bar we spent a minimum

of two nights in each week.

that was enough for me.

yet, these cupcakes seemed perfect

for a birthday.

the grown-up version of

a drink we all spent a lot of time

talking about, if not actually

drinking. and - we were headed

for a brewery that night.

it was perfect.

when i e-mailed larry asking

him if we had:

guinness

jameson

bailey's

at home, i thought for sure

he would know what i was making.

but, he didn't. i was very excited.

i felt like it was the ultimate suprise dessert.

yes. i need to get out more.

the cupcake recipe was

very different than most cake

recipes i make: the butter

is melted and mixed with

cocoa powder, the eggs are blended

with sour cream and the sugar

is actually combined with

the flour.

but, it was a very easy (if not

admittedly, messy - you have to

dirty a bunch of bowls and

saucepans) and before i knew it,

the cupcakes were baking.

there was only one mistake

while baking, and it was totally

my fault. in spite of knowing better,

i opted to trust the muffin liner

package. it said that i could place

the liners on a baking pan,

fill them and bake them.

except for one really oozy

cupcake, it wasn't so terrible,

but it did make it hard to fit

them into the cupcake carrier

the next day.

the ganache.

i had spent a full day deciding

whether or not i should fill

them with ganache

as indicated in the recipe,

or use the ganache as a glaze.

i loved the idea of filling them,

but i just had a weird feeling

that for me, it wouldn't go well.

when the cupcakes were cool,

i made the executive decision

to add a little more heavy cream

to the chocolate and to dunk

the cupcakes in the mixture to coat.

the frosting, would be

for decoration.

you know how sometimes, right

before you start to do something

you know it will not go well?

well, i was sure that the glazing

would be a bust and i would

ruin the whole lot of them.

luckily, save for one unlucky

cupcake that slipped out of

my hands and fell in foil-first,

i was wrong.

the glazing was a great idea,

so easy and so pretty.

the frosting.

it came together,

well too, but i again suffered

from the fact that i am not

especially good at cake decorating.

i spent 6 weeks of culinary school

listening to a pastry chef tell me to:

put my pastry bag tip at

a different angle,

stop pulling away and creating points,

start leveling off the spatula to avoid swoops.

yet, i still thought that i could make

them pretty. unfortunately, i think

i succeeded in making a pretty sophisticated

confection (cake plus ganache glaze),

look like a fourth grader's art project.

i tried several designs, kicking myself

every time it didn't look so great,

before finally deciding upon

a frantic back and forth frosting

square in the middle of the cupcake.

i thought they looked ridiculous.

but, in the 24 hours between

making them and giving them,

i grew rather fond of the frenetic design.

bottom line:

these were cupcakes modeled after

a bar favorite and truth be told,

it probably didn't matter what they

looked like. plus, i think they

were rather delicious. while

i'm not a huge fan of chocolate -

i'd always choose vanilla if given

the choice -

i think these were one of the best

cakes i've tasted in a long time.

rich and so moist, with just

a slight, is-there-beer-in-here?

aftertaste.

the glaze was thick

and a great addition

to the yummy cake.

and the frosting was, i thought,

very sweet. but in small doses,

it brought everything together.

i was worried that they wouldn't

come together well,

that it was risky to bake something

new not only because it was

for something special,

but because it was for someone

who has quite a lot of baking

expertise under her belt.

i worried that they would melt

and wilt on the long car ride

into philadelphia and that

they would be even gloopier

by the time they got into

colleen's kitchen.

but i needn't have worried.

they survived the ride.

colleen and christian each

had one unwrapped before

we even had our overnight

bags upstairs. and my favorite

part? colleen's mom ate one, too.

it was the perfect start to what i didn't

know was to become,

a cupcake marathon.

stout cupcakes with whisky glaze and irish buttercream

adapted from smittenkitchen.com

chocolate stout cupcakes

larry and i split the last cupcake three days after i had made them and the cake was still very moist - i was impressed. i actually think - that as long as i'm not making them for someone who cannot have alcohol - these could turn into my chocolate cupcake standby.

1 cup stout, like guinness

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoons salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cups sour cream

arrange racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven. heat oven to 350˚f. line cupcake wells with cupcake liners (i was able to make 21 cupcakes from the batter, but you could have up to 24, i think).

in small heavy saucepot over medium heat, bring stout and butter to a simmer. remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder until mixture is smooth; set aside.

in mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.

in bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream on medium speed 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until completely blended. carefully (mixture is still hot and dark and chocolatey), add stout mixture to eggs; use spatula to gently combine (this keeps the mixture from splattering). on low speed, beat just until combined. add flour mixture; use spatula to fold the two mixtures together; on low speed beat until just combined.

at this point, i think it's easiest if you can transfer the batter to a large measuring cup, or something with a spout for pouring. fill cupcake liners 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. bake 16-18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean. (it's best to rotate the pans midway through baking - top to bottom and front to back.)

let cakes cool 10 minutes in pan; transfer cupcakes to rack to cool completely.

when ready to glaze: dip cupcakes, cake side-down, into glaze, rotating to cover completely. gently turn upright, letting excess drip off. place on cooling rack. if the cupcake is not completely covered, use a spoon to carefully drip over uncovered areas of the cake. let sit 20 minutes, or until glaze has firmed up.

when ready to frost: place frosting in large resealable bag. snip small edge from corner (about 1/4-1/3-inch). pipe designs on cupcakes.

chocolate whisky ganache glaze

i debated whether or not to halve the recipe below. i didn't, but i had figured that using it as a glaze, i would need much less. i was right - i had so much ganache left over, that i ended up chilling it to make truffles. so, it's halved below. if you're worried that it won't be enough, or if you're ok with leftovers, double it. also, if you don't want to use whisky, you can leave it out or replace it with a splash of vanilla extract.

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (chips or bar, chopped)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons whisky

place chocolate in bowl. in small saucepot, bring heavy cream to a simmer; pour over chocolate. let sit 2 minutes; whisk together until smooth. stir in butter and whisky.

irish cream buttercream

again, i halved the original recipe because, when used as a decoration or garnish, you don't need nearly as much frosting. i had a ton left over when i used the full recipe. if however, you'd rather use this mixture to frost the entire cupcake, double all ingredients below. oh, and if you don't like irish cream or would rather not use alcohol, smitten kitchen recommends milk or heavy cream.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (or more)

2 tablespoons irish cream (or more to taste)

in bowl of electric mixer, beat butter until completely softened. slowly add confectioners' sugar a few tablespoons at a time, until the mixture is thick (if it seems a little too thick, remember that the liquid is coming to smooth the mixture out). add irish cream; beat to combine.