Once again we are about to discover how an ever growing number of Daring Bakers from around the globe can read the same words in the same recipe, try valiantly to use the same ingredients as listed and kneading to bake present this blogsphere with all our very individual interpretations of this month’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge

Milk Chocolate & Caramel Tart

This month’s challenge recipe came from

Eric Kayser’s Sweet & Savory Tarts

(sorry folks it’s another to lust after)

and was issued to us by the

Lovely Daring Baker’s

Veronica from Veronica’s Test Kitchen

and

Patricia from Technicolor Kitchen

(you can find the recipe on their blogs)

This is a fairly short worded recipe.  Taken step by step, it is made up of techniques that we’ve encounter in previous challenges.  It is oh so easy to let yourself fall into the “I can do this” trap.  Our hostess’ allowed several modifications:  Fragmented caramel topping was optional, either wet or dry caramel method could be used, the 2 tsp cinnamon called for in the crust recipe could be all used or in any amount down to zero and the usual exception for allergy or an ingredient not available or cost prohibitive.

Chocolate Shortbread Pastry

Time given for preparation: 10 minutes

I think the group was expecting pie crust, I was.  The directions called for (1) soft butter which was then creamed in a food processor!  Um, that’s NOT pie crust.  To the creamed butter (2) add confectioner’s sugar, ground hazelnuts and cinnamon.  Mix well.  (Still mixing in the food processor).

Please note: I used the entire 2 tsp cinnamon called for in the recipe.

Side story:  For over a year now I’ve been listening to Kalyn rave about Penzey’s Spices.  Finally about four weeks ago, I broke down and ordered a bunch.  The day after I placed my order on line, I was driving back from the airport with my father and we stopped for lunch.  As we drive through the parking lot to the restaurant what do I see: Penzey’s!  My online order arrived about a week before I started this challenge.  I had ordered three different cinnamons.  I used the Vietnamese Cinnamon because it smelled the sweetest and just the best.

Now (3) add the whole eggs (there were two), one by one, mixing constantly.  (Starts to feel really strange, right?  This is a food processor but this is titled Shortbread Pastry NOT crust.  (4) Sift in flour, baking powder (!!) and cocoa powder and mix well.  This seemed really over the edge, I mean baking powder in a crust and more mixing in the food processor!  I couldn’t do it.  I put everything in a regular bowl and mixed with a rubber spatula.

Wrapped in plastic film, the dough then chilled most of the afternoon and overnight.

Mixing the pastry was, amm, a piece of cake and really would have only taken 10 minutes if I hadn’t re-read and re-read the recipe to be sure it was saying all this mixing was in a food processor!

Now, here we are next morning for a blind baking.

First thing I did, little trick I know Angelika uses, was to dust my tart pans with a little of the extra hazelnut powder.  I really can’t tell you my thoughts and what I was calling this sticky stuff while I tried to roll it out.  I had the most success rolling this between my silpat and a sheet of parchment paper and then unrolling it over my tart pan.  Ho, Ho did I use the word success?  The result sheered off the “crust” at the edge, very cleanly you may observe and covered the bottom of the pan but leaving the sides open for the P&P as Karen would say - patch and push.  I was unable to duplicate my success with the second tart bottom and P&P was the only thing that was available to me.

Baking Blind:  Sort of like when you ask your husband to look for something and he closes his eyes.  I figured I needed two hands, so I got my blindfold out . . .  No that can’t be right.  Don’t go looking for your blindfold.  “Dock” or prick the crust/shell with a fork, line with a piece of parchment and weight it with something.  Dried beans are cheap and work well, just don’t every try to then cook them - it won’t happen.  Pie beads (ceramic or stainless) are also great.  This is always an issue to keep a pie crust from bumping and bubbling when being baked blind (empty).  It was of special concern using the baking powder.

This baked up without domes or bumps.  It was crispy if patchy.  Makes you think of crust after all.

Crust is cooling.  Now, OH BOY, on to the caramel.  We did caramel for the Gateau Saint Honore and I had no problem with it then but here I started to do that OBESSING  thing.  I went to my books and looked up different caramel techniques.  Then Veronica and Patricia said we could do it either way.  I’ve really got myself into a sweat.  As I assembled the sugar and cream and butter, I thought, “Just do it already.”  The dry method worked before, it did again.  Once you make that leap and you know: (1) use low to low medium heat, (2) keep Stirring, (3) crystals will appear, (4) crystals and lumps are not fatal, (5) keep Stirring, and (6) let it turn a golden caramel color.  You will get beautiful caramelized sugar.

Adding the cream puts a bit of adventure into the equation. I took the chill off the cream and just barely warmed it in the microwave.  Pour the cream away from yourself, low over the pan and at arm’s length.  There will be some excitment in that pan when the cream meets the caramelized sugar.  And I did get some great crystals!  Just give it time, low-medium heat and time, time, time

As exciting and potentially dangerous as pouring warm cream and room temperature butter into hot caramelized sugar maybe, there is NOTHING  more dangerous than a slightly cooled pan of this in front of you with a spoon in hand.  Oh, my heart be still.  Do not attempt this lightly.  I have to believe that some Daring Bakers’ will have had to make this twice because the first pan turned up empty when it came time to fill the cool tart shell with it.

The next step is to beat two whole eggs and an extra yolk with 15 grams of sifted flour and pour and mix that into the caramel.  Pour the caramel mixture into the shell and bake 15 minutes, mine took 20.  Remove and allow to cool.

Final step is to melt the milk chocolate.  I used Santander Milk Cocolate 65% and melted it in the microwave about 10 minutes at 2% power, removing it every 3 to 4 minutes to stir.  Trust me this is what milk chocolate is suppose to be!

Stirred until smooth, I place the bowl in some cool tap water while I whipped the cream.  Temper the chocolate with a bit of the whipped cream and then folded all together.  When both the tart and the chocolate whipped cream (mousse) are cooled, pour or pipe the mousse over the tart and decorate.

The first tart I took with me for our neighborhood monthly Ladies Happy Hour.  Everyone who tried it raved and ALL thought the cinnamon was perfect!  They also all described themselves as cinnamon lovers.  One lady pronounced the tart orgasmic - I sent her home with a quarter of the tart and she was still singing my praises the next day.

Except for rolling the crust out, this is pretty straight forward to put together and it is excellent taste wise.  If you haven’t been eating the caramel straight from the pan, I think you’ll enjoy the tart immensely.  If I were to do it again, I might try a darker chocolate but this milk chocolate was excellent.

For the entire listing of all my wonderful Daring Bakers’ who share all their baking wisdom from past experiences and their instantaneous experiences with each month’s challenge, check out the Daring Bakers’ BlogRoll on the side bars.

Tally Ho till next time when the Daring Bakers’ will again strike with butter at the very least and probably cream and sugar as well.

Up next, my best friend Rosemary and bread!