An elegant classic, this tart features a buttery shortbread crust and deeply flavorful salted caramel filling. You probably won’t believe me when I say it’s simple to make, but believe me, it is. It’s a quick fridge-and-pantry-staples raid, I-need-a-dessert-to-bring-to-dinner type dessert that’s just a tad more upscale than a pan of brownies.

salted caramel tart

ingredients:

[for the shortbread crust]

• 1 stick (4 oz) of cold butter, cut into small cubes

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup of white sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon of salt

[for the salted caramel filling]

• 1 1/4 cups white sugar

• 1 stick (4 oz) of cold butter, cut into small cubes

• 1 cup heavy cream

• optional: flaky sea salt, for sprinkling; whipped cream, for serving

directions:

1. Prepare the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a tart pan* with cooking oil.

2. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar and salt. And the butter. With a pastry cutter, blend the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. (Alternatively, you can use a food processor. Place ingredients in the processor and pulse.) Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared pan and use your fingers to spread it out and press it down. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to press down and create a level crust. Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

3. Prepare the filling. While the crust is cooking, place butter and sugar in a deep saucepan (three quart is a good size). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to caramelize the sugar, about 10-15 minutes. The mixture will go from clumpy to dry and chalky, and finally the butter will separate, but just keep going until it reaches one shade lighter than the color of caramel you want.

4. While the caramel is going in one pan, in another pan add the heavy cream, heat on medium high, and take it off the heat once it reaches a boil. Set aside.

5. When the caramel is a deep golden color, remove from heat and carefully and slowly stir in the cream (watch out! the mixture will steam & bubble quite a bit). Return the caramel mixture to low heat and cook, stirring to dissolve any chunks, for another five minutes or so.*

6. Pour the caramel into baked shortbread crust and let cool to room temp. Sprinkle with sea salt and refrigerate for an hour or two or until ready to serve. Slice & serve with an optional dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

notes:

• tart pan: if you don’t have a tart pan, you can make this recipe in a 8 or 9 inch square pan.

• sugar chunks in your caramel: don’t worry too much if you still have a few chunks of sugar in your caramel toward the end, so long as you have a fine mesh sieve/strainer, you can just pour the finished caramel through it and strain out any lingering chunks.

• gluten free: this crust works well by swapping out the flour for a gluten-free 1:1 option to make it all gluten-free.

• ganache on top: adds a nice touch. If you opt for that, melt 6 ounces of chopped chocolate (or semi-sweet chocolate chips) with 3 tablespoons of heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring until melted (or you could do it over a double boiler, or you could heat the heavy cream to scalding & add it to the chopped chocolate). Top with flaky sea salt or edible gold leaf!

Adapted from this blog’s millionaire bars [crust] and Leite’s Culinaria salted caramel tart [filling].