Fudgy Baked Caramel and Chocolate Ganache Tart
This melt in your mouth baked Caramel Tart and Chocolate Ganache Tart has a creamy caramel filling that uses sweetened condensed milk, so it comes out smooth and fudgy. It’s topped with a a silky-smooth chocolate ganache topping that is set to perfection on top, all in a flaky chocolate tart shell with sea salt sprinkled on top! A flavor combination match made in heaven!
Hey team! Today I’m coming in with my delicious, layered Chocolate and Caramel Tart which has a baked condensed milk caramel layer that bakes and sets super fudgy! I use the same caramel recipe in my Caramel Slice recipe. It’s creamy and not overly sweet.
It pairs perfectly with my silky, one-bowl Chocolate Ganache recipe which is incredibly easy to make in the microwave and comes out so smooth. Once you’ve poured it on top and let it set, sprinkle it with salt and you have a super tasty, indulgent tart that you made right at home. Plus, it can be made ahead of time for your next get together which makes it a no-brainer celebration dessert.
One of my favorite things about this Chocolate Tart Crust recipe is the tart itself which is buttery rich, delicate and crispy too! I have a Sweet Tart Crust recipe which would pair nicely with this as well. I use it in my Lemon Tart and my Crème Brûlée Tart.
By the way, I have a slight obsession with salted caramel and chocolate desserts on the blog. Check out my Salted Caramel Cupcakes which are to die for and my Caramel Crunch Brownies.
What You’ll love about this tart!
I’ve been wanting to make this tart for so long, but I wanted to come up with the very best version of it. Caramel and chocolate go together so well but I wanted to make it easy, simple and it had to taste amazing! Here’s what I love about my tart
- Tastes phenomenal – The combination of chocolate, caramel and sea salt is a flavor match made in heaven. It’s rich but not overly sweet.
- One-Bowl 5-Minute Chocolate Ganache – you can make this ganache in the microwave or over a double boiler. Either way it’s really easy to make, it’s made in one bowl and sets perfectly.
- Step-By-Step recipe with just 2 layers! – this recipe is a step-by-step process. You make the tart shell, baked it, make the caramel layer, then add the easy chocolate ganache on top.
- It sets perfectly – no annoying oozy caramel here!
Making The Crispy Chocolate Tart Shell.
For this recipe I made my Chocolate Tart Crust which is buttery and flaky. You’ll need to blind bake it for 15 minutes before adding the caramel filling for further baking. My Chocolate Tart Crust is crisp, buttery, tender and easy to work with!
Once you’ve made the dough by hand or in a food processor, you let it rest in the fridge because it helps when it comes to rolling out the dough. You form it in the tart tin, bake blind bake it for 15 minutes, then bake for a final 15 minutes before it’s ready to use. It’s a very straight forward recipe!
How to make the fudgy Condensed Milk Caramel.
What I love most about this caramel recipe is that it sets perfectly and that’s partly because of the sweetened condensed milk. I use it for this very reason in my Caramel Chews recipe. It starts off on the stove, no long stirring or candy thermometers here. It’s just on for 5 minutes. Then it goes in the oven to finish baking and set!
- Add the butter, sugar and golden syrup to a saucepan and stir until melted and it comes to a gentle bubble.
- Then stir in the condensed milk until it comes to a boil. Continue stirring for 5 minutes.
- Pour on top of the Chocolate Tart. Spread around evenly. Bake for 10 minutes until it turns a dark golden color. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Making the One-Bowl Chocolate Ganache.
My Chocolate Ganache recipe is so easy to make and sets perfectly smooth! I use it in my Easy Chocolate Cake as a frosting but it can be used in tarts like this too!
- Add all the ingredients into a bowl
- Melt using the microwave.
- Pour on top of the tart
- Allow to set. Once set, sprinkle with sea salt.
TIP: To make the chocolate ganache over a double boiler – fill a large pot with about 1/3 of the way with water and bring to a boil. Place a heat proof bowl on top making sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water
How to get perfectly clean slices
Easy! Although it’s a little time consuming. Run a large sharp knife under hot water and carefully wipe dry. Then slice. Clean the knife, run under hot water, dry and slice again. You’re going to do this with every slice.
Breaking up the workload
This tart is easy to make but because it’s layered, and each layer needs to set before being made there are a few things you can do to prepare ahead of time to get it just right! The tart can be made in a day but making it over 2 days makes it a much easier process.
Day 1
- Make the tart dough
- Let it rest for an hour
- Bling Bake
- Make the caramel
- Add to the tart and bake.
- Allow to set
Day 2
- Make the ganache
- Add to the tart and allow to set for a couple hours.
- Slice and serve!
Tips and Tricks For Recipe Success!
- Measure out using kitchen scales – measuring ingredients out by weight and not cups is the best way to get consistent results every time! I wrote all about this in my post about using digital kitchen scales!
- Make the caramel ahead of time – it needs an hour to chill in the fridge before you bake it for a total of 30 minutes. Can be made a day in advance or used as soon as it cools!
- When making the caramel, make sure you don’t take your eyes off as it can burn quickly! And make sure you’re constantly stirring to avoid it burning on the bottom.
How do I store this tart?
This tart can be store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. Thaw to room temperature before serving if you like, although it’s delicious when it’s cold. Out of the fridge in a cool spot for about 5 days.
Can I make this in advance?
Yes! The tart crust can be made up to 3 days in advance, and it can be filled during that time. Then you can fill it and put it together a couple days in advance. Please note: after about 1-2 days the crust will begin to absorb the moisture from the filling and soften.
How long should I cook the caramel for?
The caramel is cooked on the stove for about 5 minutes and then baked for 8 minutes
Why is this recipe is in grams and not cups?
The short answer is accuracy! It is far easier, more accurate and you get more consistent results when you measure ingredients by weight, especially in dessert and bread baking! I wrote all about this in my post about using digital kitchen scales!
Gave this a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!
Fudgy Baked Caramel and Chocolate Ganache Tart
Serves 10
Ingredients
- 1 Chocolate Tart Shell, can use a 10-inch store bought tart crust as well
Baked Caramel Filling
- 125 g unsalted butter
- 70 g brown sugar
- 55 g golden syrup, or honey
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 395 g sweetened condensed milk, see notes
- Pinch of salt
Chocolate Ganache
- 420 g dark cooking chocolate, see notes
- 62 g unsalted butter
- 30 g glucose syrup, see notes
- 190 g heavy cream
Instructions
Chocolate Tart Crust
- For this recipe I made my Chocolate Tart Crust which is buttery and flaky. Once you’ve baked it for 20 minutes with the baking beads, bake it for a final 15 minutes without the baking beads. Let it cool down before adding the hot caramel filling in this recipe.
Caramel Filling
- Preheat a fan forced oven to 150C / 300F (170C / 340F for no fan).
- Syrup – Add the butter, brown sugar and golden syrup to a large saucepan and place on medium heat. Gently stir until the mixture is melted and it begins to bubble around the sides.
- Finish Caramel – Add the condensed milk and continuously stir until the mixture begins to bubble again. Continue stirring the bubbling mixture for 2 minutes. It will darken slightly in color. Take off the heat and add the vanilla and salt and stir until combined.
- Bake – Pour the mixture on top of the blind baked tart shell. Bake for 8 minutes. Once baked, allow to cool to room temperature.
Chocolate Ganache
- Microwave method – Add chocolate, cream butter and glucose syrup into a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 20 seconds at a time, mixing each time until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to set at room temperature. Once set, use a spatula to smoothen. It’s ready to be piped, frosted or to fill cupcakes and cookies!
- Double Boiler Method – Fill a medium sized pot 1/3 of the way with water. Bring to a boil. Place a heat-proof bowl on top and add the ingredients in it. Gently mix until mixture is completely melted and smooth.
- Finish tart and set – Pour on top of the cooled and set caramel. Place in the fridge to chill for 1 hour. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes once the chocolate is fully set. Slice and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
11 comments
So excited for you guys to give this gorgeous caramel and chocolate tart a go!
Looooove it!!
Thanks Steph! N x
Hi! The tart crust recipe says if you are continuing past the blind bake to bake fillings, to bake at 300F for 20 with baking beads and 15 without, and then to let it cool all the way before adding fillings. This recipe says only 15 minutes total without waiting for it to cool…which way is preferred? Then this recipe doesn’t specify a temperature to bake the caramel layer at, so I just want to make sure it’s still 300F from the blind bake? Excited to see how this turns out! Looks delicious 🙂
Hi Kristina! Thanks for your comment and questions. I’ve gone into the recipe and made it a little clearer how long you need to bake for fillings that need further baking (15 minutes). Once you bake it with beads for 20 minutes, you bake it for a further 15 minutes if you’re going to fill the tart with a filling that needs further baking, bake it without the beads for a final 15 minutes. Once you’ve done that, you let it cool down before adding the hot caramel filling and bake the tart and filling in the oven for 8 minutes. Fan forced oven: 150C / 300F (170C / 340F for no fan). Hope that helps! N x
Could this recipe be adapted to peanut butter?
Hi Omar, Unfortunately, I’m not sure how it would be added as I haven’t tested this tart that way. However, I have an amazing Picnic Tart which has chocolate and peanut butter which I think you’d like.
This recipe is so easy and SO delicious! I saw it in my email inbox and decided to give it a whirl even though I usually hate caramel recipes since they burn so quickly and are a nightmare to clean. Every step of this recipe was not only easy to follow and understand, but also super easy to clean up afterwards!
The pastry recipe was also surprisingly simple. I’m always terrified my pastry will end up tough, but this recipe was SO simple and really easy to make even without a food processor. The caramel was so simple and sets up so beautifully, and the whole tart was a huge smash hit with all my friends. I was giving slices away all week and had people begging for more!
Yay!!!! I’m so thrilled to hear all of that feedback. I’ve been taking special care to really dig deep into my recipes lately and focus on making them easier to understand so I’m glad to hear that you found this recipe easy to handle and understand 🙂 N x
This tart looks scrumptious omg I love caramel and chocolate together!
I have a question tho, in the tips you say the caramel should be cooled before being poured on the crust and baked, “for a total of 30 minutes”. However in the instructions there is nothing about the cooling step, as if the caramel should be poured hot on the crust, and they say the filling has to be baked for just 8 minutes. What’s the correct way to go?
Hi Ana! Thank you so much, I’m really glad you love the combo of caramel and chocolate—it’s a favorite of mine too! Great catch on that cooling step, and I appreciate you pointing it out. You’re right, there’s no need to cool the caramel before pouring it into the tart shell. Once the caramel is made, it goes directly into the baked tart crust while it’s still hot, and then it gets baked for just 8 minutes. I’ll update the notes to clear up any confusion!