Chocolate Caramel Tart with Pretzel Crust
This chocolate caramel tart has pretzel crust and toasty peanuts for a salty, sweet, decadent dessert. It's great for holidays, get-togethers, or serving to a crowd!
Ingredients
Pretzel Crust
- 4 c mini pretzel twists (for 1 1/2 c crumbs)
- 1/2 c unsalted butter, melted + more as needed
- 3 Tbs brown sugar
Peanut Caramel Filling
- 1 1/2 c sugar
- 1/2 c water
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 c unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/3 c heavy cream, room-temperature
- 1/3 c unsalted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
Chocolate Ganache
- 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 c heavy cream
- Chopped peanuts, pretzels, and/or flaky salt, for serving
Equipment
- 9'' tart pan (8'' or 10'' will work too)
Instructions
Pretzel Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9'' tart pan with unsalted butter.
- Place the pretzels in a food processor.* Pulse the pretzels until you have fine crumbs. You should have 1 1/2 cups of crumbs total.
- Add the melted butter and brown sugar. Pulse until the mixture clumps and sticks together.**
- Using your fingers, press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom and sides of the pan. Bake for 9-10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool while you make the caramel.
Peanut Caramel Filling
- Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, ensuring that the bottom of the thermometer is hitting the sugar-water mixture but not touching the bottom of the pan.
- Let the sugar-water mixture cook over medium-low heat, swirling the pan often until the mixture turns a dark amber color and the temperature reaches 350-360°F. Resist cranking the heat or stirring the mixture or it could crystallize!***
- Remove the pan from the heat, and quickly stir in the vanilla extract (the mixture will bubble and splatter). Add the butter one chunk at a time until combined. Next, add the Kosher salt and heavy cream, quickly stirring to combine everything. Let the caramel cool for about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the chopped peanuts evenly over the top of the tart crust. Immediately pour in the caramel, using a rubber spatula to spread it evenly if necessary. Pop the tart in the fridge to set, at least 30 minutes but preferably at least 1 hour.
Chocolate Ganache
- Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl.
- Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan just until it comes to a simmer. Don't let it boil! Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir the mixture until you have a thick, glossy ganache. Quickly spread the chocolate ganache over the tart with a rubber spatula or offset spatula.
- Decorate the tart with chopped peanuts, pretzels, and/or flaky salt, as desired. Let the ganache set for 15-20 minutes. Slice and serve immediately, or pop the tart in the fridge until you're ready to serve. Let it warm up for 15-20 minutes at room temperature to allow the caramel and chocolate to soften before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
*A note on the food processor: If you don't have a food processor, just place the pretzels into a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to break up the pretzels. Then, add all of the crust ingredients together in a bowl, mixing it up with a wooden spoon.
**A note on the crust: If the crumb mixture is too dry to "clump" together, add more butter 1 Tablespoon at a time, just until it comes together. Avoid adding too much butter or it will make the crust greasy.
***A note on the caramel: If you notice crystals starting to form on the side of the pan, use a wet pastry brush to brush them off.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 644kcal, Carbohydrates: 75g, Protein: 5.5g, Fat: 38.8g, Saturated Fat: 23.2g, Cholesterol: 97mg, Sodium: 702mg, Potassium: 33mg, Fiber: 2.4g, Sugar: 48.5g, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 1mg
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