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Tahini Caramel Chocolate Tart
Author: Claudia Brick
Ingredients
Pastry
  • 220 g flour
  • 60 g icing sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 150 unsalted butter refrigerator cold, chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Sesame brittle
  • 60 g sesame seeds
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 50 g glucose syrup (also called corn syrup)
  • 25 g unsalted butter
  • pinch of salt
Tahini caramel filling
  • 300 g caster sugar 1 1/2 cups
  • 80 ml water 1/3 cup
  • 85 g butter
  • 125 ml cream (1/2 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons runny tahini
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 1/2 - 1 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
Chocolate ganache
  • 113 g dark chocolate finely chopped
  • 125 ml cream (1/2 cup)
  • 30 g unsalted butter
Instructions
Pastry

  1. Using a food processor, blitz the flour, salt and icing sugar to combine.

  2. Add the cold butter cubes, and blitz until only pea sized lumps remain.

  3. Add the egg and vanilla. Blitz a few times until larger lumps start to form. It will still be quite crumbly at this stage.

  4. Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly and gently bring it together with your hands into a smooth disc. Don’t ‘knead’ the dough  - over working it makes likely to shrink back when baked and be tougher.

  5. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.
  6. Lightly grease a 26cm tart tin with butter.
  7. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface to just fit the size of your tart tin.
  8. Gently lift the pastry (I fold mine over my rolling pin) into the tart tin, gently pressing into the base and up the sides. Trim the top where it comes over the side of the tin with a sharp knife. Press the edges with your fingers so they just pop 1-2mm up above the top of the tin.
  9. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  10. To blind bake the pastry, preheat the oven to 180°C.
  11. Use a crumpled piece of baking paper or tin foil to line the tart tin, and fill the tin with baking beans or rice to weigh it down. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is dry underneath the baking paper. Remove the baking paper and beans, then return the tart to the oven to bake for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.
  12. Set aside to cool.
Sesame brittle
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. In a dry pan, toast the sesame seeds over medium heat, stirring constantly until shades of golden.
  3. Cut 2 large pieces of baking paper to fit on a large baking tray. Lay one sheet out on a flat heatproof surface.
  4. In a medium pot, combine the caster sugar, glucose syrup, butter and salt. Heat until the butter is melted, sugar dissolved and it is just coming to a boil. Add the sesame seeds and stir through.

  5. Pour the brittle out onto the sheet of baking paper. Place the second sheet on top, and use a rolling pin to gently spread the brittle into a flat sheet (~3mm thick.)

  6. Lift the paper and brittle onto the baking tray. Gently peel the top piece of baking paper off and discard. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool.
Tahini caramel filling
  1. In a medium pot, combine the caster sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, swirling occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved.
  2. Meanwhile, measure out the butter and cream to have them ready to go.
  3. Watch the sugar, without stirring, as it boils until it starts to caramelise around the edges. When patches start to turn golden, swirl the pan so that the sugar caramelises evenly.
  4. When the caramel is golden, remove from the heat. Carefully add the butter and stir - it will bubble and steam, so don’t have your hand too close. Gradually stream in the cream, stirring constantly, until combined.
  5. Stir in the tahini, vanilla and sea salt. Set aside to cool and thicken - taste to adjust the tahini and sea salt once cool enough.
  6. When ready to fill the blind baked tart tin, check that the caramel is still pourable - if it is too thick, microwave for 10 seconds or heat gently just until it is.
  7. Pour the caramel into the pastry case and use a spatula to spread out to the edges.
  8. Place the tart in the fridge for at least an hour to set.
Chocolate ganache
  1. Place the finely chopped dark chocolate in a bowl
  2. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and butter until simmering (almost but not quite boiling).
  3. Pour over the dark chocolate, making sure the chocolate is all underneath hot cream.
  4. Leave for 5 minutes, then use a fork to stir until the ganache is smooth.
  5. Let cool until thickened - it needs to be thick enough to swirl on top of the tart.
  6. Remove tart from the tin. Swirl the ganache on top of the tart. Top with shards of sesame brittle and flaky sea salt.