Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tart

5 from 1 vote

This Chocolate Caramel Pecan Tart is a twist on the traditional pecan pie and is the perfect tart to sit next to a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. The toasted pecans are sandwiched between a deep chocolate ganache and a homemade caramel which is very easy to make.

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Total Time1 15

Course: Tarts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: caramel, chocolate ganache, homemade caramel, pate sucree crust, pecan pie, Pecan tart, pecans, Thanksgiving, traditional pecan pie

Servings: servings

Calories: 590kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Ingredients

Blind Baked Pâte Sucrée Crust

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (175 grams or 6 ¼ ounces)
½ cup unsalted butter cold and cut into small pieces (114 grams or 4 ounces)
¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams or 1 ¾ ounces)
2 large egg yolks

Chocolate Ganache

5 ounces pecan halves (140 grams)
½ cup 40% or heavy cream
¼ cup clear corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (75 grams or 2 ⅓ ounces)
10 ounces semisweet chocolate (280 grams)

Caramel

1 cup cold water
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (250 grams or about 8 ¾ ounces)
½ cup corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream hot
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (75 grams or 2 ⅔ ounces)
1 tablespoon vanilla

Instructions

Blind Baked Pâte Sucrée Crust

Go here to make the crust.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Spray a piece of foil large enough to cover the the inside of the crust and extend over the sides.
Flip the sprayed foil over so the sprayed side fits inside and up the sides of the crust.
Fill it with beans or another pie weight.
Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the weights and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Do not over-bake as the crust can crack. Cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache

Go here for process photos.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the pecan halves on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Toast for 6 to 8 minutes until fragrant and slightly browner. Cool completely.
Combine the cream, corn syrup, and butter in a small saucepan. Heat until the butter melts. It should be steamy hot but not boiling.
Remove from the heat and submerge the chocolate. Wait for 2 minutes then gently whisk until smooth.
Pour 1 ½ cups into the crust, smooth it out, and refrigerate or freeze just until the top is set. Do not let it get hard. It takes about 10 minutes in a freezer, but longer in the refrigerator.
Reserve the remainder of the ganache at room temperature.

Caramel

Go here for process photos.
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 sides of the pan down with a natural bristle pastry brush dipped in cold water or place a tight fitting lid on the pan for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and boil without stirring until the mixture becomes a medium golden color.
Heat the cream until very hot. Off heat add the vanilla.
Off heat, immediately add the butter and stir until it is melted.
Pour the hot cream with the vanilla in all at once and stir. If some of the cream lumps up don’t worry. It will dissolve in the next step.
Return to medium high heat and bring to a boil. Boil to 236°F on a candy thermometer.
Wait about 5 minutes and pour the hot caramel over the pecans to the top of the crust.
Most likely, there will be air bubble that come to the top. Prick them with a toothpick or a cake tester. Repeat until they are all broken.
Cool the tart at room temperature until the caramel is set.

Finishing

Fit a pastry bag with a ¼ inch open star tip. Pipe small circles all the way around the edge.

Notes

The tart crust can be made a month ahead, frozen, and wrapped well. Blind bake as above from the freezer.
The caramel may be made a week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Heat it or microwave it gently, stirring often, until pourable. Use as above.
The tart can be made several days ahead. Store in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen up to a month, well wrapped, and thawed overnight in the refrigerator.
This is very rich so small pieces should be served.
There may be some ganache and/or caramel left. Make two great sauces by adding a bit of cream to each one. Heat them to loosen them. Serve with cake, ice cream, tarts, etc.

Nutrition