Recipes Golden Caramel and Chocolate Tart 5.0 (4,735) 2 Reviews Dorie Greenspan has this tip for the luscious filling in her tart: "The caramel is easy to make perfectly, just exercise restraint. It shouldn't color too much. When the sugar turns the color of pale ale, it's ready." By Dorie Greenspan Dorie Greenspan F&W Star Chef » See All F&W Chef Superstars Long-known for her excellent baking books, Dorie Greenspan now runs the new cookie boutique Beurre & Sel in New York City. Here, her favorite holiday gifts and tips, plus a surprising, easy technique for home bakers. What are your favorite holiday food gifts? Even before I opened Beurre & Sel, my cookie boutique, I always gave cookies to friends when the holidays rolled around. The way I see it, no one can have too many cookies at holiday time. I make sweet cookies—I love giving my vanilla sablés because they’re beautiful, delicious, and perfect with tea or coffee or even a little wine—and I make savory cocktail cookies because they’re grown-up, sophisticated and more fun to have than the usual cocktail bites. What’s your favorite holiday cocktail? I love Champagne any time of year, but it’s my absolute favorite at holiday time. Whether it’s real Champagne or a good sparkling wine, nothing’s more festive than a drink with bubbles. Can you share a great entertaining tip? Think room temperature. When I’ve invited lots and lots of people for dinner—as I often do (and, because I’m always inviting whoever’s in town for the holidays to come to dinner, dinners often end up reaching big-party numbers)—I make what I call an indoor picnic. I forget about first courses and main courses and just fill up the table with great food, all at room temperature, and let everyone pass the dishes around and take whatever they want in the order that they want it. It’s always fun and it’s great if you’ve got people who might not know everyone around the table. It doesn’t take more than a few dish-passings for everyone to put their elbows on the table and start talking to one another like old friends. What are 5 top places not to miss on a holiday trip to Paris?Have oysters and a glass of crispy, dry, very cold Sancerre at Régis Huîtrerie, near the covered Saint Germain market. Have a real bistro meal at le Bistrot Paul Bert—I love it because it’s a traditional, bustling, happy French bistro with wonderful food and service, and a wine list that could make any fancy restaurant weep. Have a glass of wine and a ham croquette standing at the counter of the always busy and always fun L’Avant Comptoir. Visit the organic farmers’ market on the Boulevard Raspail and don’t miss the leek and potato galettes at the end of the market. (You can’t miss them: Their aroma will pull you their way.) And have as many pastries as you possibly can from Pierre Hermé.What recipe or dish of yours is most requested by your fans? People often ask for the recipe for World Peace Cookies (the recipe is in my book Baking: From My Home to Yours) or Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake (from Around My French Table). And on the savory side, it’s often the recipe for my gougères (also from Around My French Table). They’re my standard welcome when friends come to my home in Paris. What’s your favorite cookbook of all time? I have so many cookbooks I love, but I have the softest spot for Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts. She has the most wonderful way of writing recipes, she’s incredibly clear and obsessively precise and I’ve baked my way through the entire book and never had a clunker. What’s one technique everyone should know? Whenever you’re baking something that calls for grated citrus zest, grate the zest onto the sugar that you’re using for the recipe and then reach in and use your fingers to rub the zest and sugar together. Rub until the sugar is moist and wildly aromatic. It’s fun, it’s great aromatherapy and, best of all, you get much, much more flavor from the zest. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 1, 2014 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © John Kernick Active Time: 40 mins Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Yield: 1 9-inch tart Ingredients PASTRY 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice 1 large egg yolk FILLING 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, at room temperature 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 4 large egg yolks Directions Make the Pastry In a food processor, pulse the flour with the confectioners’ sugar and salt. Add the butter and pulse until it’s the size of peas. Add the egg yolk and pulse in 10-second increments until incorporated, about 4 long pulses. Transfer the pastry to a sheet of parchment paper, shape into a disk and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. Roll out the pastry to a 12-inch round. Slide the pastry on the parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Refrigerate the pastry until firm, about 1 hour. Let the pastry stand at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften. Discard the top sheet of parchment paper and invert the pastry into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom; fit the pastry into the pan and trim the overhang. Prick the pastry all over with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line the tart shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the pastry is set and lightly browned at the edge. Remove the parchment paper and weights and bake the pastry for 5 minutes more, until lightly browned on the bottom. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°. Make the Filling In a microwave-safe small bowl, microwave the chocolate at high power in 30-second bursts, just until melted. Let cool slightly. Pour the melted chocolate into the baked tart shell, spreading it evenly over the bottom. In a small skillet, stir 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar with the lemon juice and ¼ cup of water over moderately high heat until the sugar dissolves. Cook, without stirring, until the mixture starts to color, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until a lightly golden caramel forms, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the butter, 1 piece at a time. Stir in the cream and salt, then let the caramel cool to room temperature. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar until smooth. Stir the caramel into the egg yolk mixture, then pour the custard evenly over the chocolate in the tart shell. Transfer the tart to a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the crust is browned and the filling is still slightly wobbly in the middle. Transfer the tart to a rack and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until set and thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. Unmold the caramel tart and serve. Make Ahead The pastry can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before rolling out and baking. The caramel tart can be refrigerated, covered, for 2 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Suggested Pairing Nutty, caramelly Madeira. Rate it Print