Salted caramel Chocolate Tarts

These mini Salted Caramel Chocolate tarts are one of my favorite desserts ever! It just tastes phenomenal as the buttery caramel with a slightly salty kick meets the silky chocolate ganache in a buttery chocolate sweet shortcrust pastry! These Salted caramel chocolate ganache tarts can be the perfect dessert for the holidays and beyond.

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• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 🥣  Equipment notes
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🌟 More tart recipes
• Salted caramel Chocolate Tarts

📝 Ingredient notes

For the mini Chocolate tart shells

1. Flour: I am using pastry flour for this mini Salted Caramel Chocolate tart recipe, feel free to use AP if can’t find pastry flour in your supermarket. For more details on flour, please read my flour guide
2. Almond: Some Pâte Sablée recipes contain almonds, while some don’t, I prefer mine with some almond flour in it from the taste and texture point of view. You can replace it with an equal amount of flour
3. Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder will make this into a wonderful Chocolate Pâte Sablée! Always use unsweetened, 100% cocoa powder in baking. I use dutch-process cocoa powder, it has a lovely dark color and it is lower in acidity
4. Sugar: Use powdered sugar, sifted
5. Salt: An essential ingredient in most dessert recipes. It balances the flavor and enhances other ingredients.
6. Butter: Use always unsalted butter as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat-content butter in all my recipes, including this Chocolate Tart with salted caramel sauce. The butter needs to be properly chilled, which means take the butter out of the fridge, cut it into chunks then place it into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before using it
7. Egg: Use at room temperature as almost always in baking

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the Salted caramel sauce

1. Granulated sugar: Use white granulated sugar, nothing fancy
2. Butter: As above, use unsalted even though you are making salted caramel, you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat-content butter in all my recipes. It is very important that butter needs to be at room temperature. If the butter is too cold, it won’t incorporate properly into the caramelized sugar
3. Heavy cream: Also known as whipping cream, has a fat content between 36% and 40%. Use it at room temperature and avoid substitutes like vegetable based “whipping cream”
4. Salt: Preferably use salt flakes

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

For the Chocolate ganache

1. Chocolate: The Chocolate caramel tart recipe will turn out as delicious as the quality of the chocolate you are using. Please use high cocoa content chocolate which you would anyway enjoy eating on its own and avoid using “baking chocolate”. I am using Valrhona Jivara 40% chocolate that tastes amazing and works wonderfully silky while making ganache
2. Heavy cream: As per above, use high fat (36%) heavy cream

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. The process of making mini Chocolate tart shells

I have a detailed Chocolate pate sablee recipe, please check that out for more details, a troubleshooting guide, etc.

1. Measure all ingredients with a Digital scale and prepare all the equipment ahead: Rolling pin, Silicone baking mat, Perforated “air” baking mat, Perforated tart ring
2. Place the measured butter chunks into the freezer for 5-10 minutes
3. Sift together the dry ingredients; flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder, almond, salt, and mix so they are combined properly
4. Add very cold butter chunks to dry ingredients and rub the mixture between your hands until it becomes a sand-like consistency. This will take about 2 minutes, make sure you do not spend too much time with this step as butter can easily warm up, and that is something we want to avoid. Please note that there is no need to use a food processor!
5. Add egg into the mixture and mix with your hands just until the dough comes together. First, it might look crumbly but do not add more wet or dry ingredients to the recipe instead gently knead the dough with the palm of your hand for a minute or two (do not over-knead, and do not use a mixer) just until the dough becomes smooth
6. If the dough is too warm and sticky, place it into the fridge for 10-15 minutes first. Otherwise, continue rolling the dough out into 2mm thickness between two Silicone baking mat. The recipe quantity is designed in a way that once you roll the dough out, it will reach the silicone baking mat from edge to edge (11.6 inches / 30 cm x 16.5 inches / 42cm)
7. Place the chocolate tart dough into the freezer for 10-15 min in between the two Silicone baking mat. Do not remove the mat at this point as the dough might stick to the mat while it is warm
8. Prepare your oven rack with the Perforated "air" baking mat and Perforated tart rings on top
9. Take the dough sheet out from the freezer, remove the top of the silicone mat, and using one of the Perforated tart rings, cut out 8 circles – this will be the bottom of your tart crust. Carefully move the dough circles with the help of an Offset spatula and place them into the rings one by one
10. If at any point the chocolate pastry dough gets too warm to work with, pop it back into the freezer for 5 minutes. You might need to take the dough in and out of the freezer a lot of times but that is fine, don´t try to force the dough while it is warm. It is extremely important to work with a dough that is cold enough to be able to handle (so not sticky) but not too cold which would result in breaking it
11. Cut 8 long stripes out of the dough, this will be the side of the tart
12. Carefully place the stripes into the ring one by one. Press each strip onto the side of the ring so it sticks to it. Again, make sure you work with a dough that is cold enough but not frozen as that would make it impossible to place it into the tart pan without breaking it
13. Place the Perforated tart rings with the chocolate pastry dough in them into the freezer for 1 hour
14. Pre-heat oven to 160C / 320F (no fan)
15. After 1 hour, take the sweet shortcrust pastry dough with the rings on them out and trim the top with a sharp knife
16. Bake them for 20 min then carefully remove the rings. Once you take the chocolate tarts out of the oven wait for a minute or two for the pastry to somewhat contract within the ring then you will be able to easily remove the rings. If the pastry seems to be stuck onto the ring, it means probably you will need to bake it for a few more minutes. Do not force it as you can easily break it

1. Once the tart rings are removed, you will need to place the tart cases back to the oven. Bake them for another approx. 10 minutes, adjust the baking time if needed. Rotate the baking sheet, if necessary. Let them cool completely on the Perforated "air" baking mat before filling them

💡 Top Tip: The recipe can be made with traditional (non-perforated) equipment, however, in that case, you will need to apply the blind baking method.

2. How to make salted caramel filling

I have a detailed step-by-step tutorial about making caramel sauce, make sure you read it! In a nutshell, you will have to make dry caramel by melting sugar and then cooking it with butter and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.

I just love making caramel sauce, and this has been my go-to recipe for years! Try it and use it on literally anything; cupcake, cheesecake, apple pie, brownie, or even your morning coffee! This homemade caramel is sticky, buttery, and balanced in sweetness, perfect for this Chocolate caramel tart! Once you taste it, I can guarantee that you will be making it over and over again!

💡 Top Tip: Room temperature ingredients are key for making caramel, if butter or cream is too cold, the mixture will certainly break or crystalize.

3. How to make chocolate ganache filling

Chocolate ganache is a chocolate and cream mixture with endless uses; cakes, cupcakes, tarts, etc. As usual, the quality of the ingredients will highly impact the end result. I recommend to chose a high-quality brand with high cocoa content chocolate to avoid disappointment. I am using Valrhona Jivara 40% chocolate that tastes amazing and works wonderfully silky while making ganache.

Chocolate ganache is a 1:1 mixture of chocolate and warm cream

1. Place finely chopped chocolate into a bowl
2. Heat cream until just simmering. If it’s boiling, the cream is too hot and could burn the chocolate. If the cream is not warm enough, it won´t melt the chocolate properly
3. Pour warm cream over the chopped chocolate
4. Let the two sit for a minute then stir them together

💡 Top Tip: While taste is obviously very important, in the case of chocolate the quality goes way beyond taste, good vs poor quality chocolate can make or break any recipe.

4. How to assemble the mini Salted Caramel Chocolate Tarts

First, you will make the tart shells and you have to let them cool before filling. Next, prepare caramel sauce according to the recipe and pour warm but not hot caramel into the tart shells to fill ½ of them. Sprinkle with salt flakes.

Pop the tarts into the fridge for the caramel to set. Make sure that you pour the second, chocolate layer on top only after the caramel layer is set. Then lastly, prepare the chocolate ganache according to the recipe and pour warm chocolate ganache on top of the already set caramel layer.

As a final touch, decorate your Chocolate caramel tarts with golden dust spray!

💡 Top Tip: The tarts will need to be set in the fridge for about an hour before serving.

🥣  Equipment notes

Silicone baking mat

I recommend using 2 Silicone baking mat for rolling the pastry dough out in between them.

While rolling, start from the center of the disc and work your way out in all directions.

Perforated baking “air” mat

The Perforated “air” baking mat is perfect for making tart crust, éclairs, or even cookies. Thanks to the holes in the mat, the heat spreads evenly throughout mats’ surface guaranteeing perfect and even baking without blind baking. 

While baking the mini chocolate tart shells, use the Perforated “air” baking mat straight on top of the oven rack (so not in a baking pan) so that the air can circulate properly.

Perforated tart ring

The Perforated tart rings are non-stick and stainless, they allow homogeneous baking due to the even air circulation. Silikomart offers rings in various shapes and sizes, I am using an 8cm (3,14inch) diameter round version in this case, however, the recipe can be made in larger rings as well just like this Raspberry Frangipane tart.

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