Now that I’m working a 9-5 job I don’t tend to talk about my time in the restaurant industry much. It doesn’t really come up when you’re talking about health insurance claims or the other obscure things that somehow only apply in corporate America. Suddenly your years of restaurant experience don’t really matter and the fact that you were once able to singlehandedly clear an eight top doesn’t impress a single person.

That changes occasionally when we have potlucks and at this point it’s pretty well known that I went to culinary school and have worked in restaurants. Recently at work we had a bakeoff, which is more intimidating than you think when you’ve been a professional baker in the past. Suddenly you have to wrack your brain to remember what may have been your ‘best’ recipe. Sure, you’ve made croissants, puff pastry, and pate choux before, but are those really your best recipe examples?

That thought process went on for probably a week or two until I finally decided that, as a self-professed non-lover of sweets, I should probably go with something that’s more of a crowd pleaser. I dove deep into chocolate territory looking for a recipe that would make almost anyone (including myself) stop and consider taking a bite. It didn’t take very long to find the New York Times recipe for a Chocolate Caramel Tart that even I couldn’t say no to.

The recipe itself was fairly straight forward, and as long as you’re comfortable making caramel sauce this recipe is a breeze. Even if you’re not, this is a great foray into the world of caramel sauce making. I’d just suggest you use a towel to cover your hand/the whisk handle when you start to whisk in the butter/cream mixture because there will be a lot of steam coming out of there.  You can even start to make the components a day or two in advance and then assemble them the night before you want to serve the tart.

Oh, and did I mention I tied for first with this recipe? So it’s a good one.

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the Dough:

½ cup (115 g) salted butter, at room temperature

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (135 g) confectioners’ sugar

¼ cup (25 g) unsweetened cocoa

1 large egg yolk

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ¼ (180 g) cups all-purpose flour

For the Caramel Filling:

2 cups (400 g) sugar

½ cup (115 ml) water

¼ cup (75 g) corn syrup

½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter

½ cup (115 g) heavy cream

2 tablespoons (30 g)  sour cream

 Pinch of salt

For the chocolate filling:

3 ½ ounces (100 g) extra-bittersweet chocolate (70 to 85%), chopped

½  cup (115 g) heavy cream

 Fleur de sel

For the dough:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Combine butter, confectioner’s sugar, and cocoa in a large bowl. Using a whisk, beat until smooth.

Add in egg yolk and vanilla and mix until blended.

Sift flour mixture into the butter/egg mixture.

Mix until combined. The dough will form a smooth(ish) ball.

Use a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of a 10″ tart pan.

Press the dough into the tart pan starting at the bottom and working your way toward the sides. If you only have a 9″ tart pan, you can either make the crust thicker and have some left over caramel and chocolate, or you can spread the dough out and use the extra in a 3″ tart pan like I did.

Place parchment paper on top of the dough and add pie weights. Place the tart pan into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the caramel:

Bring sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a large nonstick saucepan.

While the mixture is boiling, swirl the pan or use a non-stick spatula to stir the ingredients. Continue to boil until the mixture turns a deep amber color.

Remove the pan from the heat and add in the sour cream, heavy cream, and butter. Be sure to whisk rapidly as the mixture will bubble up. I also recommend wrapping a towel around the handle of the whisk if its metal as the steam will make it very hot.

Pour the hot caramel into the tart and allow it to cool and set. This will take about 1 hour.

For the chocolate:

Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until the mixture is smooth and all of the chocolate has melted. Pour chocolate glaze over the caramel and spread using an offset spatula to ensure even coverage.

Let the chocolate set and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Slice with a sharp knife and serve.