Salted Caramel Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

Back when I worked at Sur La Table, I was constantly bookmarking recipes from the classes I worked in. One of my (many) favorite desserts was a version of this tart. It was lacking what I think to be the best ingredient: homemade salted caramel sauce. If you’re like me and you love the combo of dark chocolate and caramel- you’ve got to make one of these babies ASAP!

Salted Caramel Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

Ever since I shared these salted caramel cookie dough cups I’ve been on a huge caramel kick. Phish food ice cream, milk duds, and caramel straight from the jar… you name it, I’ve been snacking on it! I decided it was finally time to turn my addiction into something a little more classy, that’s when I broke out my recipe collection and got to baking.

Salted Caramel Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

This tart isn’t very technical, although it does require extra care and is slightly time consuming. I like to take it step-by-step and make it in the morning so that it’s ready for dessert in the evening. I’m not going to go into details today about how to make it because I think I was long-winded enough in the directions 😉 But just know that if I can do it, so can you! All the work/dishes that go into this tart are so worth it, you will not be disappointed with the results- it’s simply decadent!

Salted Caramel Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

The sweet flaky pastry dough is flecked with vanilla bean while the filling is all cream, eggs and chocolate. We’re not messing around. Once baked, the tart’s bittersweet center is incredibly dense and rich… a chocolate lover’s dream! And then there’s the much talked about caramel topping. Words cannot describe how much I love it! I would drizzle it on just about any dessert if I could! If you’re still deciding wether this recipe is for you, it is!!! Go for it! Enjoy & happy baking 🙂

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Salted Caramel Bittersweet Chocolate Tart Recipe

You won't be able to resist this salted caramel bittersweet chocolate tart! It's so incredibly smooth and rich- and of course, topped with homemade salted caramel!
4.62 from 13 votes
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Course: Dessert, Pastries, Pies & Tarts
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Chill: 3 hours
Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 747kcal
Author: Andrea
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Ingredients

Sweet Pastry Dough

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 7 Tbsp butter - cold and cut into 1/4" pieces
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
  • 2 1/2 Tbsp ice water

Filling

  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 12 oz bittersweet chocolate * - chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 egg yolk

Salted Caramel

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 6 Tbsp salted butter - room temperature
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream - room temperature
  • 1 tsp salt ( I prefer non-iodized sea salt)

Instructions

  • To prepare the dough, in a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolk, vanilla and ice water. Slowly pour into the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry blender until pea-size clumps form. Knead the dough into a ball, then pat flat and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • After the dough has chilled, roll it out into a circle approximately ⅛" thick. Place into a tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the dough so that it is flush with the rim, then place a piece of aluminum foil over top and pour in pie weights (see NOTES if you don't have weights). Place in the oven and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until pale golden brown. Allow to cool while preparing the filling.
  • To make the filling, in a medium size saucepan placed over medium heat, add the heavy cream and whole milk. Heat until the mixture boils, then remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until the mixture becomes smooth. In a medium size mixing bowl whisk the eggs together. Slowly pour about ¼ of the mixture into the eggs, whisking vigorously to combine (and to prevent the eggs from scrambling). This will temper the eggs. Slowly pour the mixture back into the pan, whisking to combine. Pour the filling into the tart and place in the oven at 325 for 25-30 minutes or until set.
  • While the tart is baking, prepare the salted caramel. Heat the granulated sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. The sugar will begin to form clumps and will eventually melt and turn brown. Once the sugar has melted completely, add the butter. The mixture will bubble, continue stirring for 1-2 minutes or until the butter has completely melted, then add the cream. Boil for 1 minute then remove from the heat and add the salt. Allow the caramel to cool along with the tart for about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the tart, taking care not to let it spill over the crust. You may have a few tablespoons left over. Place the tart into the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours. Before serving garnish with flecks of sea salt.

NOTES

*I used three 4 oz. Ghirardelli bittersweet baking bars for the chocolate filling.
-If you don't own pie weights you can use dry beans or rice. I also like to use a slightly smaller cake pan and place it on top of the foil.
-Recipes makes one 10" tart.

Nutrition

Calories: 747kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 562mg | Potassium: 329mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 1256IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 4mg

Recipe source: slightly adapted from Sur La Table

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Andrea

Hi I'm Andrea!

Hotelier turned Food Blogger to help make your life simple, one recipe at a time.

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Comments:

  1. 3 hours to make..not 30 minutes.. the taste was ok! Not super. I’ve thrown out the recipe.. and I love love trying new things!

  2. 5 stars
    Wow!! This recipe is absolutely delicious and decadent! Followed each step and it turned out perfectly. I will be making this again for sure. I heated my knife to cut through caramel topping to make sure it look professional! Lol.
    Thank you Natalie. We all loved this.

    1. 1 star
      I don’t know what happened but my dough didn’t bake at all. I followed the receipt completely and I am not a beginner baker. I bake pies and tarts on weekly bases, this never happened to me. The recipe sounded great, I’m a big fan of caramel but I don’t know what I did wrong with the dough. Is it possible that I wish the egg yolk too much?

      1. Hi Jasmina, I’m not sure what happened. Are you saying it didn’t bake at all when you baked the dough by itself for 20 minutes?

      1. Hey Natalie,
        I am writing from Germany.I don’t have a baking pan with removable bottom. Can i also bake the dough in a normal tarte pan and put it out after the first step and then put the cream into the dough and bake it for the second time without pan? Or will the cake has too little stability then?

        1. The cake will not have enough stability if you bake it without the pan during the second step. I would try to bake it according to the directions and just use the normal tarte pan instead (to replace the removable bottom pan). Let me know how it turns out. I would love to hear! Hope this helps!