Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

There's a moment when you're standing in a French patisserie, watching someone bite into a chocolate tart and their eyes close in pure satisfaction, that you realize some desserts are worth mastering. Mine came on a gray Tuesday afternoon when a friend mentioned she'd never had proper salted caramel chocolate, and I decided right then to change that. The way those three layers work together—dark chocolate, buttery caramel, the shock of sea salt—feels almost architectural, like you're building something that shouldn't be as simple as it is.

I made this for a small dinner party last summer, and someone actually set their fork down mid-bite to ask if I'd bought it from a bakery. The truth made them laugh harder—it was just butter, chocolate, and the kind of patience you develop when you realize good things aren't rushed. That tart sat on the table for three hours, gradually disappearing as people kept finding excuses to cut just one more sliver.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: The foundation that holds everything together, and cocoa powder transforms it into something darker and more interesting than plain pastry.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder: This gives your crust actual chocolate flavor rather than just structure, which makes the contrast with caramel matter more.
• Cold unsalted butter: The temperature matters here—cold butter creates those tiny pockets that make the crust flaky, not dense.
• Powdered sugar: It dissolves instantly into the dough, adding sweetness without the grittiness of granulated sugar.
• Egg yolk: Just the yolk binds everything without making the crust tough, something I learned after one too many dense attempts.
• Granulated sugar for caramel: Watch it transform from clear to amber—that color change is your timer, not a clock.
• Heavy cream: It halts the caramel's cooking and creates that luxurious silkiness you're after.
• Flaky sea salt: Don't use table salt—the larger crystals create distinct bursts of salt against the sweetness, and they stay visible and beautiful on top.
• Dark chocolate (60–70% cocoa): This percentage balances richness with actual chocolate flavor instead of pure cocoa bitterness.

Instructions

Mix the chocolate crust:

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and salt together, then work cold butter in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse sand. This step goes faster if your butter is genuinely cold straight from the fridge.

Bring the dough together:

Add the egg yolk and a tablespoon or two of cold water, mixing gently until the dough just holds together—overworking it makes it tough, so stop as soon as it comes together. Flatten it into a disk, wrap it, and let it rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Line the tart pan:

Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about a quarter-inch thick, then press it into your tart pan and trim the excess with a knife. Chill it again for 15 minutes, then blind bake it at 350°F with parchment and pie weights for 15 minutes, remove the weights, and bake another 8–10 minutes until it looks dry. Let it cool completely before moving forward.

Cook the caramel:

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring entirely and just watch as it turns from clear to pale amber to deep amber. When it's the color of iced tea, pull it off heat and carefully pour in the heavy cream (it'll bubble dramatically), then whisk in butter until smooth, and stir in sea salt.

Layer the caramel:

Pour the warm caramel over your cooled crust and spread it level with a spatula, then chill it for 30 minutes until it firms up enough that the ganache won't sink into it.

Make the chocolate ganache:

Put finely chopped chocolate in a bowl, heat heavy cream until it's steaming, pour it over the chocolate, and let it sit for two minutes before stirring—this gentle approach makes ganache glossy and smooth, not grainy. Add butter and stir until everything's one unified, lustrous mass.

Top with ganache:

Pour the ganache over the caramel and smooth it out with a spatula, making it as even or as rustic as you want. Refrigerate the whole tart for at least an hour, preferably two, so the layers set without sliding around.

Finish and serve:

Just before serving, sprinkle a light dusting of flaky sea salt across the top so it stays crisp and visible. Use a sharp knife dipped in hot water (and wiped dry between slices) to get clean edges instead of cracks.

Save

What I love most about this tart is how it sits on the table looking almost austere and elegant, then completely disarms people with that first bite. It's become my go-to when I want to impress without spending the whole day in the kitchen, and it's taught me that sometimes the most sophisticated flavors are actually the simplest ones arranged with intention.

Why Temperature Matters More Than You Think

Cold butter in the dough, warm cream for the ganache, a chilled tart between layers—this recipe is secretly a lesson in temperature control. I used to skip the chilling steps, thinking I was saving time, and my tarts would crack or slide apart. Now I see that chill time isn't wasted time; it's when the tart actually comes together and gets its structure. The butter solidifies again, the caramel sets properly, and each layer supports the one on top instead of sliding around like foundation on sand.

The Salt Question: Why It's Not Optional

Flaky sea salt isn't a fancy garnish here—it's essential chemistry. The salt brightens the chocolate, makes the caramel taste less one-note, and creates that contrast your palate actually craves instead of the flat sweetness of something unsalted. I once made this without the finishing salt because I ran out, and even I, the person who made it, felt like something was missing. A friend even asked if I'd used lower quality chocolate, when really the salt had just been doing all the heavy lifting the whole time.

Making It Your Own

This tart is beautiful as written, but it's also a canvas if you want to experiment. I've added a quarter-teaspoon of espresso powder to the ganache, which deepens the chocolate and adds almost a coffee-shop complexity without tasting like coffee. Someone once asked me to make it with bourbon caramel by swapping a tablespoon of water for bourbon, and honestly, it was magic. The framework stays exactly the same, and the room for play makes it feel less like following instructions and more like cooking your own dish.

• Try adding a tiny pinch of ground chili powder to your ganache for a subtle heat that plays beautifully with dark chocolate.
• Brush the baked crust with a thin layer of melted dark chocolate before adding the caramel to prevent sogginess if you're serving it hours later.
• Use a kitchen torch to gently warm your knife between slices so the chocolate cuts cleanly instead of shattering.

Save

This tart has become the dessert I make when I want to feel like myself in the kitchen—capable, a little bit fancy, but honest. It's the kind of recipe that reminds you why butter and chocolate exist.

Recipe FAQs

→ What type of chocolate works best?

Dark chocolate with 60-70% cocoa content provides a rich, robust flavor essential for this tart's balance.

→ How do I achieve a flaky tart crust?

Incorporate cold butter into the flour mixture quickly and chill the dough before rolling to ensure flakiness.

→ Can I prepare components in advance?

Yes, the tart shell, caramel, and ganache can be made ahead and assembled before serving.

→ How to prevent caramel from seizing?

After reaching amber color, remove from heat before whisking in cream slowly to avoid sudden temperature changes.

→ What pairing complements this tart?

A glass of tawny port or a cup of dark roast coffee enhances the rich chocolate and salty caramel notes.