CHOCOLATE AND CARAMEL TART BY GARETH WHITTON
(TARTS ANON) SERVES 8–10
395ml can sweetened condensed milk
SHORTCRUST PASTRY
100g cold unsalted butter, diced, plus extra for greasing
200g plain flour
80ml iced water
CHOCOLATE CUSTARD
130g dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids, roughly chopped
310ml (1¼ cups) pouring cream
60g caster sugar
5 large eggs
1 Carefully place unopened can of condensed milk in a large saucepan of boiling water, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 hours. (Keep topping up water so the can remains fully submerged; if you don’t, the can might explode.) Allow can to cool in the water, then set aside.
2 Meanwhile, to make pastry, place butter, flour and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor and blitz until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add iced water, a little at a time, until you have a firm but malleable pastry, being sure not to overwork the dough. (You won’t need any more water – it will be too wet otherwise.) Cover in plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 3 Preheat oven to 180°C.
4 Gently flatten dough between two large sheets of baking paper, then use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 35cm circle about 2mm thick. Wind pastry around rolling pin, then drape it over a lightly greased 25cm x 3.5cm fluted tart tin. Lift edges of dough and press gently into corners of the tin, then, using your fingertips, press into sides of the tin and trim edges with a sharp knife. Set aside in the freezer for at least 20 minutes to firm up (it can freeze for up to a week). 5 Line semi-frozen dough with a large sheet of foil or baking paper, pressing it into corners of the tin and ensuring the sheet is large enough to hang over the edges. Fill to the brim with uncooked rice or similar and place in the oven to bake for 30-40 minutes, until edges are golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool with baking weights still in. Reduce oven temperature to 125°C. 6 Meanwhile, prepare chocolate custard. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place cream and sugar in a
saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat and pour a small amount onto chocolate. Whisk together until chocolate melts, then add remaining cream in two lots. 7 Place eggs in a separate heatproof bowl and pour chocolate mixture over eggs. Using a stick blender, blend until shiny and smooth (avoiding incorporating air into mixture). Set aside. 8 Spoon the now-cool caramel into a bowl and, using a spatula, work in 1¼ teaspoons of sea salt until smooth. 9 Once tart shell is cool, use a palette knife to spread caramel in an even layer over the base of the tart shell. 10 Set chocolate custard over a saucepan of simmering water and stir constantly until it is hot to touch, or reaches 70°C on a kitchen thermometer. Transfer to a jug. 11 Place tart on an oven shelf, carefully pour chocolate custard over caramel. Bake for 30 minutes or until custard has a slight wobble in the centre, then remove from oven and allow to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before cutting and eat on the day.