Tuesdays with Dorie - Chocolate Crunched Caramel Tart

This weeks recipe was chosen by Carla of Chocolate Moosey. I think I love her! :D Chocolate, caramel and peanuts...when I read this recipe I fell in love. :) So, first of all, thank you Carla for choosing such a fabulous dessert.

This tart is rich. Donald Trump rich. No, Oprah rich! Silky smooth bittersweet chocolate covering a layer of homemade caramel studded with honey-roasted peanuts. All of this sitting on top of a buttery, tender, almost flaky (cookie? pie?) dough. So very rich. It's something I would expect to see on the menu of a very upscale restaurant. And, I would have paid big bucks to try it too! :) Now I can make and eat it whenever the mood strikes me. Which I hope isn't often because my waistline can't afford it. But, oh how good it is.

I thought this was a pretty easy tart to put together. I don't own a tart pan (will have to rectify that) so I made mine in the bottom of a 9" springform pan. The dough was very easy to do. Mine didn't seem crumbly. It was soft and pliable. I used cold butter, but maybe next time (oh, there will be a next time!) I will freeze it and see if the dough is more like described in the recipe.

I have made caramel in the past so I wasn't too concerned with making it for this tart. The only problem I had was some of my sugar became little lumps and were slow to dissolve. I'm not sure what I did to make that happen, but I just kept pushing on the lumps with my wooden spoon till they broke up and dissolved.

I had all the ingredients ready and had it put together in no time. Set it in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes. I was home from work yesterday (no houses 3 Mondays a month) and while I don't usually eat dessert in the middle of the afternoon, when the buzzer for the timer went off after 30 minutes I was ready. I had a plate, fork and cup of coffee all set out in anticipation of the first slice.

Oh My! The first bite was amazing. The chocolate is smooth, silky, creamy, not too sweet. The caramel is not overpowering, and mine was soft, not chewy like some caramels can be. And the peanuts, with  their salty-sweet flavor. Oh My! My crust was tender and buttery and the perfect accompaniment to the rest of the ingredients. As delicious as this was, I ate it slowly, savoring each and every bite. It's a very grown-up dessert I think. One I would serve at a dinner party if I were trying to impress someone. (Not that I am that kind of person, but this would be the recipe to do just such a thing). Rich, decadent, fabulous!

So, thank you again, Carla. Great choice! Head over to  TWD to see what the other bakers thought about this weeks deliciousness!