Salted Dark Chocolate and Dulce de Leche Tart


I purchased a set of individual tart pans recently and made this no-bake dessert to test them for the first time. I dislike baking which is why I don't make a lot of desserts and why you don't really see me posting them here. Despite the number of steps this was easy to put together, and unlike the precision needed in regular baking, there wasn't anything here that would ruin the chemical make-up of the dessert if it was not done precisely. Dave was happy these were no bake, he expected at least the crust to be baked.

This tart can be done as a large individual tart if you don't have mini-tins. The flavors come together nicely, but the tart is very rich. Splitting half of an individual one at a time was enough for us due to the richness of the chocolate and dulce de leche together.

Recipe from Love And Olive Oil.

Ingredients:For Crust
-1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (from about 7 ounces cookies)
-2 tablespoons light brown sugar
-1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
-1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks

For Dulce de Leche
-8 ounces dulce de leche*
-2-4 tablespoons heavy cream, as needed

For Ganache Mousse
-6 ounces good quality dark chocolate (70-75%), finely chopped
-1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
-1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-flake sea salt (such as Maldon), for topping

If you're unable to purchase dulce de leche, I used this method from epicurious to turn a can of sweetened condensed milk into dulce de leche.

"Heat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Pour the contents of 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and cover tightly with foil. Set plate in a roasting pan and add enough hot water to pan to reach halfway up pie plate. Bake milk in middle of oven 45 minutes. Check water level and add additional, if necessary, then continue to bake 45 minutes more, or until milk is thick and brown. Remove pie plate from water bath and cool, uncovered. Makes about 1 1/4 cups."

Crust 

Start with the crust, finely chop the wafer cookies in a food processor. Once crumbed, add sugar, salt, and cinnamon and then pulse to incorporate.

Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Pour the butter into the wafer crumb mixture and incorporate the butter until the crumbs are evenly combined with the butter.

Press the crumb mixture into six 4-inch tart pans as I did or into a 9-inch tart pan. Press the crumbs firmly into the pan and up the sides in order to form a crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Dulce de Leche

If you use the process I suggested above, you will not need this step as your dulce de leche will have the sufficient consistency without added cream.

If you'e using a more firm, store bought dulce de leche you will need to combine the dulce de leche and cream in a bowl to microwave. After 45-60 seconds stir together the cream and dulce de leche until combined.

Once the dulce de leche is a sufficiently soft texture, spread an even layer on the bottom of each refrigerated crust and return the crust/dulce de leche to the refrigerator while you make the chocolate layer.

Chocolate Mousse

Chop the chocolate finely and place it in a heat-proof bowl. Heat 3/4 cup of cream in a saucepan until it begins to bubble (do not bring to a full boil). Once the cream is bubbling, pour the warm cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds before starting to whisk the cream and chocolate until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add the butter one tablespoon at a time, fully incorporating before adding the next piece of butter. Once all of the butter is added, stir in the vanilla.

In a new bowl, whisk the last 1/2 of cream until soft mounds have formed. Fold into the melted chocolate until no white streaks remain.

Add the chocolate mixture on top of the dulce de leche of each tart and let sit for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature (or for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator) before serving with salt over the top. 

Store the tarts in the fridge for two to three days and bring to room temperature before serving. 





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