Chocolate Dulce de Leche Tart

Whenever hubby and I travel he will of course ask me if there’s anything I want to do. Rarely do my suggestions not have to do with food…for San Fran, it was all about Tartine and Dandelion Chocolate. I built them up in my head and wasn’t disappointed one bit. At Dandelion we took the employee’s suggestion and got the dulce de leche bar…nommmmm. Seriously yum. One day I will put together a copycat of it, but for now here is a Dandelion-inspired tart:

Rating: 8.5/10
Why: I was going to town on the chocolate dulce de leche leftover. It was quite embarrassing actually, it’s just so dang good. The caramel layer though feels like a waste of time to me personally. Next time I will just melt some store-bought caramels.

P.S. Today is the last day for the giveaway!

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Tart

Crust:

• 1.5 c shortbread cookie crumbs (10-12 cookies), extra fine
• 1/3 c sugar
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted

Caramel:

• 1/4 c butter
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

Chocolate Dulce de Leche:

• 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 c heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• coarse sea salt (opt.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F. Make your dulce de leche by pouring half the can of sweetened condensed milk into a small oven-proof dish and covering it with aluminum foil. Place that into another heat-proof dish to create a water bath. Fill with water 3/4 of the way up the bowl. Bake for 60 minutes, checking once or twice to fill up the water when it evaporates. Mix well and let rest.

For the crust:
Mix together the cookie crumbs and sugar. Add the butter by pouring in a bit at a time and mixing. Stop when the mixture comes together. Press the crust into your tart pan. Bake at 375F for 7 minutes. Let cool.

For the caramel:
Place all ingredients into a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Cook over med-low heat until the butter is melted. Turn heat to med-high and bring to a boil, stirring. Once it reaches a boil, turn back to med-low and stir continuously until it reaches an amber color and is your desired consistency (about 20 minutes). Pour directly into the shortbread crust and spread evenly. Let cool at room temperature for a few minutes, then place in fridge to cool completely while you make the chocolate layer.

Chocolate dulce de leche:
Place dulce de leche and heavy cream in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir until the dulce de leche is dissolved. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together your egg yolks. Very slowly add the hot cream mixture to the eggs, whisking continuously. Then pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium, stirring continuously until thickened (bottom of pan is visible in spoon tracks or reads 170F). Spread over the caramel and let cool. Once it is just warm (it cools quickly) sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Caramel recipe from Lisa is Cooking, and chocolate dulce de leche recipe from Epicurious.

Linking with Gooseberry Patch,  Nibbles by Nic, Someday Crafts, Country Cook, Shabby Nest, Best Blog Recipes, Get Him Fed.