Salted caramel chocolate tart

I tasted salted caramel tart at a really good Italian restaurant recently, and it was so amazing I had to try and recreate it! This is incredibly indulgent - it uses a lot of butter in every stage - and it looks quite complicated as there are several components (pastry, caramel, chocolate filling, chocolate ganache)... but it's so worth it!

Adapted from a Rachel Allen recipe.

Ingredients

For the pastry

5 oz plain flour

2 oz good quality drinking chocolate powder

1 tbsp icing sugar

Pinch of salt

3 ½ oz butter, chilled and cubed (plus extra for greasing)

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the caramel

8 oz caster sugar

4 oz chilled butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing

4 fl oz double cream

1 heaped tsp sea salt

For the chocolate layer

4 oz caster sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

8 oz dark chocolate

5 oz butter, cubed

For the ganache

2 fl oz double cream

4 oz dark chocolate

To decorate

2 oz dark chocolate drops

Pinch of sea salt

Method

To make the pastry

1. Place the flour, drinking chocolate, icing sugar, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl and rub together with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Add just enough egg to bring it together, using either your hands or a palette knife.  Reserve any remaining egg for later.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and gently roll it into a ball.  Flatten it out to a thickness of about 2cm, then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 
4. Butter a 9 inch loose-bottomed tart tin. 
5. Remove the pastry from the fridge, place on a lightly floured work surface and roll out a circle large enough to line both the base and the sides of the tin (no thicker than 5mm). 
6. Press the pastry into the edges of the tin and cut along the edge of the tin.  Prick the base all over with a fork and chill the pastry in the freezer for 10 minutes. 
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
8. Remove the pastry from the fridge, line it with foil and fill with baking beans, then place in the oven and bake blind for 15–20 minutes or until the pastry feels dry in the base.
9. Remove from the oven, take out the baking beans and foil, brush the base of the pastry with any leftover beaten egg, then cook in the oven for another 3 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside. 

To make the caramel

1. Put the sugar and 75ml water into a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Add the butter, stirring to melt, then increase the heat to medium and allow to bubble away, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until the mixture is a light toffee colour.
3. Mix in the cream and sea salt and boil for another 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened. Allow to cool. 

To make the chocolate layer

1. Whisk the sugar, eggs and egg yolks until thickened and creamy in colour.
2. Gently melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (the bowl should not touch the water).
3. Leave the chocolate to cool for a minute and then add to the sugar and egg mixture, whisking until smooth and glossy. 

To make the ganache

1. Place the chocolate and cream in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until melted and glossy.

To assemble the tart

1. Spread the caramel over the cooled pastry base and spoon over the chocolate mixture, spreading it evenly, then place in the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until it is almost set but still a bit wobbly.
2. Allow to cool in the tin for 40–45 minutes before removing. 
3. Once the tart is cooled, spread the ganache over the top, sprinkle with sea salt and decorate with chocolate drops.