Salted Caramel, Chocolate and Macadamia Praline Tarts

I have a new little tart for you today!

I hinted at these in my last post with those brown butter raspberry tarts, remember?

I’m super excited to be sharing this recipe with you! It’s another one that I make at the bakery.

I boil a lot (and I mean A LOT) of condensed milk at work to make dulce de leche, and I wanted to put some into a tart somehow.

So I added a creamy ganache and a crunchy, buttery macadamia praline and a version of these tarts was born.

I loved them so much that I wanted to make them at home for Mr Man, as he is a huge fan of anything caramel chocolate.

This home-version uses my favourite, and oh-so-easy, flaky tart pastry recipe from David Leibovitz.

And I used store-bought dulce de leche, because heck, no one has time to boil condensed milk for 3 hours at home, especially when you’ve decided to bake on a whim.

Also, please don’t be put off by the the long list of steps or the amount of elements that goes into this recipe – each of them is pretty simple and once you have each one organised, the tart is simply assembled.

Hope you enjoy!

• For the tart pastry:
• 90g unsalted butter (3 oz)
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup flour (150g)
• For the praline:
• ½ cup macadamias, roasted and chopped
• ¼ cup sugar
• For the ganache:
• 335g dark chocolate
• 90g butter
• 250ml cream
• For the caramel filling:
• 1 x 395g can dulce de leche / Nestle caramel top’n'fill
• Sea salt

1. To make the tart pastry, preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F) and get out a muffin pan.
2. Place the butter, water, oil, sugar and salt in an overproof bowl.
3. Put the bowl in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the butter is melted, bubbling, and just beginning to brown around the edges.
4. Carefully remove the bowl from the oven and dump in the flour. Stir quickly, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the dish.
5. Put a tablespoon of dough into one muffin hole, and press it into the base and up the sides using your fingers. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
6. Prick the dough with a fork once or twice.
7. Bake for 8 – 12 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown all over.
8. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
9. Meanwhile, make the macadamia praline. Start by lining a tray with baking paper.
10. You need to make a dry caramel here – pour the sugar into a small saucepan and place it over a medium heat. It will start to brown and caramelise at the edges. Do not stir the caramel. You can swirl the pan, or use a spatula to push the darker caramel areas away from the edges and into the sugar, but you cannot stir.
11. Once the sugar has turned into a liquid caramel and is a dark amber colour, pour in your chopped macadamias, stir to coat, and pour the whole thing out onto the lined tray.
12. Spread the praline out so the nuts are in a single layer and set aside to harden. Once it sets, either chop it up with a sharp chef’s knife or pulse in a food processor so you hand shards of praline.
13. To make the ganache, chop the butter and cream into small cubes and place them in a medium heatproof bowl.
14. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to the boil. Pour it over the chocolate and allow it to stand for 2 – 3 minutes. Then stir slowly, starting in the middle and working your way outwards, to combine the ingredients and make a ganache. Set this aside.
15. To assemble the tarts, put a tablespoon of caramel in the base of each tart shell. Spread it out to form an even layer. Sprinkle with a little sea salt (optional) and top with a thin layer of praline.
16. Then spoon the ganache over the top until the tart shells are filled. Sprinkle more praline in the centre.
17. Set the tarts aside so the ganache can set. Then enjoy! Makes 12 tarts.
18. Happy baking!

Tart pastry adapted from David Lebovitz.