Inaugural Daring Bakers Challenge: Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart!!!

Yes, yes! I now officially belong to the The Daring Bakers community, the coolest online baking community/sorority ever! EVER! I feel like I'm one of the cool girls now! I'm so thrilled to be part of the Daring Bakers group and I was just so excited to bake my first DB creation: the Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart (and yes, the name deserves to be capitalized). When I was informed of this month's challenge, I was floored by the delicious simplicity of it and could hardly wait make it! I mean, seriously, who can resist a layered caramel and milk chocolate tart with a delicious hazelnut crust? The recipe comes from Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savory Tarts.

The tart-making process, as usual, starts with making and blind-baking of the crust. I feel that the crust is enough to make or break a tart, whether it's topped of with fruit, custard or chocolate. So it was with some excited trepidation that I started on the crust dough. It is actually a very simple shortbread crust with some extras such as ground hazelnuts and a pinch of ground cinnamon. The crust turned out nicely but it was rather difficult to handle and roll because it was so sticky (even after a rather generous sprinkling of flour).


Next, came the ooey gooey caramel layer. I was even more nervous about this part because ... I've never made caramel sauce before! I know, I know, a baker who hasn't made caramel before? Who ever heard of that? So anyway, my virgin caramel-making experience was fraught with a few minor mishaps but it turned out ok too. Yay! Instead of using the dry method (the more difficult one), I cheated and used the beginner/wet method by caramelizing the sugar in some water and corn syrup. So, the first two times I tried, I made the fluke of turning off the fire once the solution came to a boil (which I was NOT supposed to do) and let it rest. Thanks to the miracles of Google, I finally figured out that I was supposed to let it come to a boil and then let it continue boiling (without stirring) until it turns a golden caramel color! It helps to test the caramel color by dripping some on a white napkin or paper plate. Isn't it a beaut?


After baking the caramel layer and letting it cool, we come to the decadent milk chocolate mousse layer. This part was pretty simple but I still managed to fudge it up, bleah! The chocolate mousse part only needs whipped cream and melted chocolate. I had a difficult time getting my cream to stiffen, only to realize that I probably shouldn't have left it at room temperature before beating it. Fortunately, this kind of mistake isn't irreparable; I just had to chill it and the bowl I beat it in before whipping it again. And voila! Whipped cream! Next, I just had to fold in the melted milk chocolate into the whipped cream to create the mousse layer before spreading it the cooled caramel tart.


I think the milk chocolate mousse part looks a little bit grainy, probably because I let the melted chocolate cool for too long before folding it in the whipped cream. However, the grainy appearance didn't seem to take anything away from the taste; it was very rich and very chocolatey. I sliced a sliver of the tart for myself after minimal cooling time (hey! I was getting hungry!). The tart layers had different "fork feels" in that the mousse layer is soft and cloudy, whilst the caramel layer is ever so slightly less soft than the mousse, chewier and stickier. And carpeted beneath it all, is a layer of crisp, nutty crust. The different textures of the layers also lend some complexity to a tart that would otherwise be just pure sugar (not that pure sugar is THAT horrible).

But anyway, this tart is pure sin, I tell you! As usual, I brought most of it to lab, where the always ravenous fellow grad students wolfed it down. Not only did I have a ton of fun making this tart, I had an almost "Zen" experience while doing so. Well, I always feel at peace with the world when I bake anything no matter whatever else was going on in my universe, but I felt especially fulfilled making this tart. Part of the reason is just the pure enjoyment of creating something so seemingly complex from simple everyday ingredients. The usual baked goods I make tend to be individual serving things such as cookies and cupcakes, so actually making and assembling something relatively big is a rare thing for me. So anyway, the appearance of the tart leaves a lot to be desired, what with the rather uneven layers and grainy-looking mousse, which I will definitely try to improve in the next DB challenge. Fortunately, the flavor, texture and taste of the tart is just nice. I love that the first DB challenge has already exposed me to new baking frontiers such as the art of making caramel and mousse. I'm just itching for our next project!