No Bake Mini Chocolate Caramel Tarts
These easy, No Bake Mini Chocolate Caramel Truffle Tarts for Valentine's Day Dessert or any day are not only easy, they can be made ahead. The basketweave design on top is so easy, you won't believe it. Everyone will swear these came from a bakery - and they did mine!
Servings: 6 tarts
Calories: 1241kcal
Equipment
- 6 3 ½" tart pans with removable bottoms
- Candy Thermometer
- # 48 basketweave piping tip
- Disposable piping bag
Ingredients
Caramel - this can be made ahead
- 1 cup water
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (250 grams)
- ½ cup corn syrup
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (60 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Chocolate Crumb Crusts
- 1 ⅓ cups graham cracker crumbs* (140 grams)
- 3 tablespoons cocoa, dutch preferred (17 grams)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (30 grams)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (145 grams)
- *If using whole graham crackers, process them to make crumbs.
Chocolate Truffle Filling
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (60 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 10 ½ ounces semisweet chocoalte (300 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Caramel
- There will be more caramel than needed but it can't cut down further. Add a bit of cream and heat it with the caramel for a delicious caramel syrup.
- Place the water, sugar and corn syrup in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir over heat until the sugar is dissolved completely. Bring to a boil; wash the sides of the pan down with a natural bristle pastry brush dipped in cold water, then boil without stirring until the mixture becomes a medium golden color.
- Off heat, immediately add the butter and stir until it is melted. Pour the cream in all at once and stir. If some of the cream lumps up don’t worry.
- Return to medium high heat and bring to a boil. Boil to 235°F on a candy thermometer.
- Cool in the pan. Do not stir at this point. Allow to come to room temperature. Refrigerate for longer storage.
Chocolate Crumb Crusts
- Either Dutch or natural cocoa can be used. The Dutch cocoa will make a darker crust, which is why I recommend it but either is fine.
- Sift the cocoa and powdered sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the graham cracker crumbs and whisk together. . Add butter and toss with a fork until crumbs are completely coated.
- Spray the center of the tart shells. Press 35 grams around edges (about ¼ cup loosely packed) and 15 grams (about 2 tablespoons) in the bottom.
- If the caramel was made ahead and is not spreadable, microwave briefly to soften it. Spread 2 tablespoons in the bottom of each tart. Set aside.
Chocolate Truffle Filling
- In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, butter and sugar to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk gently to make sure butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. If it is not, reduce heat and continue whisking until all is mixed and mixture is very hot, but not boiling - about 180 degrees on a candy thermometer.
- Remove from heat; Submerge the chocolate under cream mixture and let sit for about 5 minutes. Stir with a rubber spatula to incorporate most of chocolate. Change to a whisk and whisk gently to smooth out remaining chocolate but not so enthusiastically that you form a lot of air bubbles.
- Using a rubber spatula, go around all the bottom edges of the pan to make sure all of the chocolate is incorporated. This is extremely important when finishing the tart. If there are even teeny tiny lumps, it will not bode well as they will stick in the piping tip.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of chocolate truffle filling over the caramel. Place in refrigerator to set up for several hours or overnight.
- Lay out the remainder of the filling in a rimmed pan. Place plastic film directly over the filling and leave at room temperature for several hours or overnight. It needs to be soft enough to pipe but firm enough to hold its shape. If it becomes too firm, place it in a 200°F oven very briefly to soften it
- Fit a pastry bag with a #48 basketweave tip. Starting at the top of the tart, pipe 4 straight lines from left to right about ½ inch apart. Turn the tart 90° (¼ turn) and, again, starting at the top pipe another set of straight lines left to right ½ inch apart. Lastly, turn another 90° (¼ turn) and pipe the last set of lines. You will now have the basketweave design.
- Last, finish the edges of the tart with a ribbon design or another of your choice. Refrigerate to set.
- To release the tarts, let them sit at room temperature for a bit and slide the side down. Place a metal spatula between the bottom of the crust and the removable bottom. If the tart is cold enough, it will pop right off with a twist of the spatula. Otherwise, go under the tart with the spatula and lift it off.
- To Serve: Place in the cooler to firm up briefly if making ahead. Store in the refrigerator; but serve at cool room temperature. This can be made several days ahead as long as it is protected from odors in the refrigerator or it freezes well if covered.
Notes
There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post.
As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour.
These six tarts are made in 3 ½" tart pans with removable bottoms to easily release. They are extremely rich and bigger size are not needed.
Make sure the best ingredients are used. By this I mean heavy cream - lesser creams won't work the same - real chocolate not chocolate chips.
Either Dutch or natural cocoa can be used. Dutch is preferred for its darker color.
Press the crumbs firmly into the tart pans so they don't crumble when released..
Caramel can be made weeks ahead and refrigerated. Reheat very gently to liquify again. Do not overheat or it can become harder.
A #48 basketweave tip can be found wherever pastry tips are sold.
If you're not sure of your piping skills, practice on a piece of waxed paper. A tip here is to look where you are going, not at the piping itself.
The key to piping is to apply even, steady pressure to the bag.
It is best to use a disposable piping bag as opposed to a plastic bag as they can easily and quickly stretch out of shape.
The excess truffle mixture to be piped must be completely free of even the tiniest bit of unincorporated chocolate or it will clog the piping tip.
Leave the excess truffle mixture at room temperature to use. Refrigerating it will make it too hard. If it becomes hard at room temperature, pop it in a 200*F oven very briefly to soften it enough to pipe.
If you're not into piping, simply pour the chocolate truffle filling to the top of the caramel filled shells. It will taste every bit as good.
Nutrition
Serving: 6servings | Calories: 1241kcal | Carbohydrates: 121g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 84g | Saturated Fat: 51g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 175mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 102g | Vitamin A: 2241IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 4mg