Wednesday, August 29, 2007

I'm a Daring Baker: Eric Kayser's Milk Chocolate & Caramel Tart


Me, my cool apron and my buggert recipe notes.

My adventures as a Daring Baker continue. So far I've made Jewish Purist's Bagels, and a fancy Strawberry Mirror Cake. This month another multi-layered challenge was chosen by the hosts Veronica and Patricia - Eric Kayser's Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart. Chocolate and caramel go really well together, as far as I'm concerned, so I was pleased with the choice.

I enjoyed making this cake. The chocolate hazelnut shortbread pastry worked like a dream, and tasted heavenly. The caramel (I used the 'dry method') was easy to make, and set nicely during baking (I cooked it for 25 minutes instead of recommended 15, following advice from fellow bakers). My troubles only started when making the milk chocolate mousse. I managed to churn the first batch of whipping cream into butter (well, it was another hot summer day, so I wasn't really surprised). K. kindly - and very quickly - brought another packet of cream from a nearby store, and whipped it up into a nice thick cream himself, to which I added a cooled melted milk chocolate (I used Fazer Blue milk chocolate). The mousse was a bit thinner than I had imagined, and sure enough, refused to set even after hours in the fridge*. It tasted absolutely wonderful however - a subtle symphony of cinnamon, cocoa, caramel, chocolate - all very nice, and although sweet, then not cloyingly so. None of the 7 official cake tasters in our judging panel (me included) seemed to mind that instead of chocolate mousse the cake was covered with chocolate mousse sauce :)

Oh, and as you can see from the top photo, I managed to destroy my testing notes in the process, but I think the 'metric' recipe below is what I did:)

Whereas I wasn't so enthusiastic about the previous Daring Baker challenge,the Strawberry Mirror Cake, I would happily make this cake again without modifications. That's how delicious it was. And I'll make sure that the milk chocolate mousse behaves next time..

Click here to see a list of other Daring Bakers!

Milk Chocolate and Caramel Tart
Adapted from Eric Kayser's Sweet and Savory Tarts
Serves 10



Chocolate Shortbread Pastry

80 grams unsalted butter, softened
50 grams caster sugar
3 Tbsp ground hazelnuts
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 small egg
130 grams cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tbsp cocoa powder

On the previous day:
In a mixing bowl of a food processor, cream the butter.
Add the confectioners’ sugar, the ground hazelnuts, and the cinnamon, and mix together
Add the egg, mixing constantly
Sift in the flour, the baking powder, and the cocoa powder, and mix well.
Form a ball with the dough, cover in plastic wrap, and chill overnight.

On the day of the assembly:
Preheat oven to 160 °C.
Line a 26 cm loose-bottomed baking pan with the chocolate shortbread pastry and bake blind for 15 minutes.

Caramel Layer

300 g granulated sugar
250 g whipping cream (room temperature)
50 grams butter (room temperature)
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
2.5 Tbsp (15 g) plain flour

In a saucepan, caramelize 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar using the dry method until it turns a golden caramel color. Incorporate the cream and then add butter. Mix thoroughly. Set aside to cool.
In a mixing bowl, beat the whole eggs with the extra egg yolk, then incorporate the flour.
Pour this into the cream-caramel mixture and mix thoroughly.
Spread it out in the tart shell and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Milk Chocolate Mousse

300 grams whipping cream
250 grams milk chocolate

Prepare the milk chocolate mousse:
Beat the whipping cream until stiff. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave or in a bain-marie, and fold it gently into the whipped cream.
Pour the chocolate mousse over the cooled caramel mixture, smoothing it with a spatula. Chill for one hour in the refrigerator.

To decorate

Melt ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar in a saucepan until it reaches an amber color. Pour it onto waxed paper laid out on a flat surface. Leave to cool. Break it into small fragments and stick them lightly into the top of the tart.

* In the interest of clarity I should probably reveal that the slice on the photo is cut from a frozen piece of cake :) And just for the sake of it - the cake froze beautifully, and tasted really nice. K. actually preferred the slightly defrozen frozen version..

53 comments:

Peabody said...

Excellent job. I really like your shard on top...very artsy.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

WOW! A lovely looking tart. I loved the first picture the best though. Made me giggle! Nice one Pille!

K and S said...

beautiful adaptation :)

Anh said...

beautiful tart!

lobstersquad said...

I can see this daring baker thing is beginning to get really dangerous. I burn oven mitts and wooden spoons all the time, so I´d better not join up, or we´ll have a gutted kitchen soon.
tart looks lovely.

Anne said...

Your tart is simply lovely! I agree that this tart is delicious :)

Wendy said...

Great job! LOVE that apron!

Anne said...

Haha - I was wondering what that first photo was about, when I saw it on Flickr :) Great looking tart - your crust looks way better than mine. Mine really wasn't very crunchy at all. (And what on earth am I going to do with the two lumps of dough still in the freezer??)

Kelly-Jane said...

A gorgeous tart :) Well done!

Alpineberry Mary said...

I think you might be the first DB to set the recipe on fire. :) I'm sure the chocolate layer was delicious whether it was mousse or sauce. It's hard to go wrong with cream+chocolate.

Anonymous said...

Chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce...it doesn't really matter 'cause it has chocolate and cream inside ;) It looks so delicious!

Karen Baking Soda said...

Looking good! Love the first photo *giggle*

Anonymous said...

OMG! That first photo is priceless!Lovely tart layers, your mousse look so smooth.

Ilva said...

Through Fire and water...Your cake is grand and I can tell you that my mousse was/is a bit runny too...

leslie @ definitely not martha said...

I would love to know how the heck you managed to work with that pastry. I swear, I'm pastry-impaired. Great job!

Anita said...

Wonderful job - your layers are so nice and even! I really love the first picture though...I think I may have set a wooden cutting board on fire once with a blowtorch...yes, not smart of me at all!

Brilynn said...

See, I needed a nice thick slice of tart like you've got there to really be able to enjoy it! Looks lovely.

kellypea said...

Very nice! At last, someone else with 3-D "Shard Art" on the top =)

Deborah said...

Wonderful job! Your tart looks beautiful.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Pille,
I'm so glad to hear your opinion about the tart! I didn't have trouble with the crust either, and I found the combination of flavors really good.

That slice looks mouthwatering, I have to say!

Anonymous said...

Runny or not, it all looks good, and that first picture is hilarious!
I´m with you on planning on doing this recipe again, everyone loved it to bits and devoured it.

Anonymous said...

It's adorable!!! Well done! Your caramel shards are so artful!

Dagmar said...

It looks great Pille and I love the caramel on top!! I'm glad to know that the cake freeze well because we have a lot of left overs.

Belinda said...

All's well that ends well! :-) The first photo seemed not to bode well for the outcome, and then the last photo proved otherwise. It turned out beautifully...and I love your "architectural" caramel shard on the top of the tart. You Daring Bakers are a super cool group. :-)

Wendy said...

Your tart looks great. I think I will freeze a few slices of the tart for later--thanks for the tip. Love the burned recipe and your apron is great too. Wendy

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I love your photo that shows all of the layers. And as for notes -- who needs them?!

Anonymous said...

Brava! Brava!

Your tart is perfect!

Shayne said...

ok maybe it will not be a good idea to include the kids in the daring baker challenges.

Shayne

Cusinero Ge said...

That looks very appetizing! Good job!

Sara said...

Whoops on your notes! Love the apron and your tart is beautiful!

Helene said...

Yum! Looks incredible. Glad you enjoyed both making and tasting it!

Dharm said...

Great job. The tart looks great and so does the apron!

Anonymous said...

Chocolate and caramel...definitely a winning combination in my book! :) Your tart looks great Pille! :)

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

I LOVE YOUR APRON! Sorry just had to say that. Will now go back and read the post in full. I'd have forgotten to say it otherwise. teeheehee!

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Sorry you didn't have much luck with the mousse bit. My best friend took over whipping the cream while I melted the chocolate or otherwise I might have ended up with butter too. It turned out okay in the end. Your tart looks lovely.

Lis said...

I love that first picture - how priceless! heeeee

Your tart looks beautiful - frozen or not!

Very lovely job, Pille =)

xoxo

Hilda said...

I didn't even think of freezing it, which would have been smart since my caramel didn't set, how clever of you. And it makes the slice look so perfect, nice shard on top.

Aoife said...

I had mousse issues too, but at least you ended up with freshly made butter. The frozen mousse sounds great in any case!

Unknown said...

I'm liking the idea of a frozen version. Without the charring... hee hee.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Burned your notes, made butter, all in that great apron!
The tart is lovely and especially that caramel fragment! Beautiful.

Amy said...

Even though the mousse refused to set, it sounds like it was a blessing in disguise because the frozen version sounds absolutely wonderful!

Elle said...

How daring to show the burned notes and that great apron in the first photo, before letting us in on how gorgeous your tart is (even if frozen). Beautiful write up.

Dee Light said...

Oh, it really looks fantastic!!

Inne said...

Your tart looks utterly delicious Pille! And I love the apron - I keep hearing it in my head with a nice Scottish accent :)

Andrea said...

First, the apron cracked me up! heeheehee

Your mousse looks good! Freezing was a great idea!

Jenny said...

Love the apron! :-)
I wouldn't have known your tart was frozen if you hadn't said it. Job well done!

Chris said...

Great job! Love the apron. :)

Kajakas said...

ma just küpsean seda torti kooli alguseks :), eksole siis nbäha kas ja kuidas õnnestub.
Selles karamellikihis tekkis küsimus ka: et ainetes on 300g suhkrut ent pannile viskad vaid 200? kas sellest ülejäänud 100-st grammist tulevadki kaunistused?
Igaljuhul tänan sind inspireerimast

Jeanne said...

Ooooh Pille, how lovely! Don't fancy myself as much of a baker so I doubt I'll be joining in the fun any time soon... but it's great seeing what others get up to! The hazelnut pastry sounds gorgeous, as does the cocolate-caramel combo. Well done, you daring baker you!

Dolores said...

There have cetainly been recipes where I would have taken some satisfaction in their destruction (as your first photograph so beautifully illustrates). I'm glad that wasn't the case for you with this challenge. Lovely tart!

breadchick said...

Fantastic looking tart! (And great shot of your cooked notes) Great job!!

Pille said...

Thank you for your kind words about my apron, burnt recipe notes and the cake - it's very kind of you!

Kajakas - jah, 200 grammi karamellikihti ja 100 grammi kaunistusteks. Nägin Su fotosid - imekaunis kook!

Morven said...

Your tart is the "milk chocolatiest" looking of all I've seen and your toffee decoration looks like a tiny piece of a jigsaw puzzle. I loved your opening photo. Well done on the challenge.