Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart

Recipe from "Sweet and Savory Tarts" by Eric Kayser

For the Daring Bakers

The August challenge for the Daring Bakers' Group helped me overcome my fear of caramel. I am amazed at how easy it is to make! I have all kinds of ideas for caramel sauce for homemade ice cream. When I read Veron's recipe earlier in the month, I went into a panic after reading "use the dry method." Luckily Veron posted a wet version and I read every ones' extremely helpful comments on how they worked through the recipe. I especially appreciated Rose's comments on how to let the cream come to room temperature. I only burned one batch of sugar. Once it starts browning it browns fast. I used Morvan's suggestion and used two Silpats to roll the dough out -- it rolled out in a snap. I wish the recipe said how thick to roll the dough. I guessed and then ended up carving some away after it came out of the oven.

I let the caramel cool slightly then added the room temperature cream. I didn't know what temperature the butter should be so I let it come to room temperature then put it back in the fridge for a quick chill and my caramel seized a little on the bottom but I just reheated it and it was fine. Very delicious. I cooked it for 22 minutes like Veron said and it came out solid. I used Valhrona milk chocolate and it was divine. I folded it ever so slowly into my whipped cream so I would not deflate the mousse.

I really enjoyed playing with caramel for the decorative pieces. I just poured it out on my Silpat and it was like magic.

The tart tasted rich. It is not a two piece type dessert! I enjoyed all the flavors together, even the cinnamon. I read a few bakers did not enjoy the cinnamon so I tried a couple bites without the crust and thought the cinnamon added to the flavors giving a balance to the super rich caramel and the fluffy mousse.

By the way, hazelnuts are extremely hard to find in Arizona. I thought they would be a staple at gourmet food shops but not so. I finally found some at Trader Joes.