Salty Sweets (14 page)

This recipe comes from my friend Joanne Chang, an amazing baker and the owner of Flour bakery in Boston. She and Flour's head pastry chef, Nicole Rhode, took a chocolate-making class several years ago, just to brush up on their skills. One of the recipes they learned was for a tangerine-caramel truffle, but since Flour doesn't generally sell truffles, Nicole adapted it into this honey-tangerine caramel tart topped with a thin layer of chocolate truffle and sprinkled with
fleur de sel.
This is a time-consuming recipe, but it's not difficult—and it's a showstopper.

 

MAKES TEN
3½-
INCH TARTLETS OR TWO
8-
INCH TARTS

 

PÂTE SUCRÉE
(TART CRUST DOUGH)

 

CARAMEL

 

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE

1. To make the
   pâte sucrée,
   in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the salt. Add the flour and mix on low speed until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times. Add the egg yolk and milk and mix on low until the dough just comes together.
   
2. Turn out the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and wrap the dough completely, pressing it down into a flat disk. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours or overnight. (Note: The dough may be made up to this point and frozen for up to 1 month, wrapped tightly in 2 layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. Let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight before using.)
   
3. Use a rolling pin to roll out the chilled dough carefully between 2 sheets of parchment paper, until it is about ⅛ inch thick. Cut the dough into rounds slightly larger than your tartlet pans, and line the pans with the dough. Work quickly; this dough softens easily, which makes it difficult to work with. Refrigerate the tartlet shells for at least 1 hour to let the dough firm up and set.
   
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the tartlet crusts until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before filling them.
   
5. To make the caramel, scrape the vanilla bean seeds into a small saucepan and add the scraped pod and the cream. Heat the mixture gently, over very low heat, for 10 minutes. Set the cream aside, keeping it warm, and remove the vanilla pod.
   
6. Combine the honey and sugar in a heavy medium-size pot. Cook the mixture until the temperature reaches 340°F on a candy thermometer, swirling the pan occasionally so the mixture heats evenly. Immediately add the warm vanilla cream while whisking gently. The caramel will bubble and steam vigorously, so be careful. Whisk in the butter, salt, and zest. Pour the caramel into the baked tartlet shells and let set at room temperature for approximately 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
   
7. To make the chocolate truffle, heat the cream and milk together in a medium-size pot until scalded (tiny bubbles will form on the surface; do not let it boil).
   
8. Put the chopped chocolate into a medium-size bowl, pour the cream and milk mixture over the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Whisk in the egg yolk and butter. Add the sea salt, and strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer.
   
9. Pour the chocolate truffle over the caramel-filled tartlets, distributing evenly. Bake for 6 minutes, then let set at room temperature for 1 hour. Sprinkle each tartlet with
   fleur de sel
   and serve.
   

[>]
Nantucket Sea Salt Ice Cream

[>]
Salted Caramel Ice Cream

[>]
Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream

[>]
Peanut Butter Ice Cream

[>]
Almond Ice Cream

[>]
Butterscotch Ice Cream

[>]
Coconut Sorbet

[>]
Watermelon Sorbet

No, you don't need to harvest your own salt from the waters around Nantucket to make this dessert. This recipe comes from my favorite restaurant on Nantucket, American Seasons (which also happens to be a favorite of certain celebrities who frequent the island, but owners Michael and Orla LaScola don't give up names). Seasons' pastry chef, Natasha Misanko, makes desserts that always bring more than just sweetness to the plate. She serves this simple, creamy ice cream with her pecan tart or with her fig and chocolate tart. Try it straight up, in between two Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (
[>]
), or topped with Blackberry-Caramel Sauce (
[>]
).

 

MAKES ABOUT
1
QUART

 

1. Combine the cream, half-and-half, and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a softly rolling boil and remove it from the heat.
   
2. Beat the egg yolks in a large bowl. Very slowly, add the heated cream mixture to the yolks (don't add it too quickly or you'll cook the yolks), whisking gently until thoroughly combined. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture registers at least 160°F on an instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool completely in the refrigerator, at least 2 hours.
   
3. Process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. About 2 minutes before the ice cream maker is done spinning, add the sea salt in a slow stream so it gets worked through the ice cream in a ribbon, not evenly distributed throughout, so you get a variety of texture and hits of saltiness against pure creaminess. (Using gray sea salt or another colored sea salt helps you see this ribbon and ensure that the salt isn't overly mixed in.) Serve immediately, or transfer to a container and return to the freezer for a firmer ice cream.
   

MAKES ABOUT
1
QUART

 

Bring together the concepts of salted caramel and homemade ice cream, and the result is one of my favorite treats ever. My favorite salted caramel ice cream comes from Bi-Rite Creamery & Bakeshop in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco (as far as I'm concerned, the perfect gourmet night out includes dinner at Pizzeria Delfina and then a cone at Bi-Rite—please try that itinerary next time you're in SF), and this fairly easy version is just as addictive.

 

1. Combine ¾ cup of the sugar, the corn syrup, and the water in a medium-size heavy saucepan and cook over medium-high heat without stirring—swirling the pan occasionally to help the sugar cook evenly—until it registers 340°F on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.
   
2. Turn the heat down to medium-low and carefully add the cream (it will bubble up quite a bit), and then slowly and carefully add the milk. The mixture will harden at this point. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat back down to medium-low and let simmer, stirring until the caramel is dissolved.
   
3. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks with the remaining ½ cup sugar and the
   fleur de sel
   . Whisk until the sugar and salt are thoroughly incorporated. Whisk about 2 tablespoons of the hot caramel mixture into the yolk mixture to temper the eggs, then repeat with another 2 tablespoons of the caramel.
   
4. Pour the tempered egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the caramel and whisk to combine. Cook over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 180°F on a candy thermometer—do not boil). Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a metal bowl and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to overnight, covering it with plastic wrap after 1 hour of chilling.
   
5. Pour the mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a container and return to the freezer for at least 1 hour before serving.
   

I rarely order chocolate ice cream because it's so often a letdown, tasting more like sugar than actual chocolate. Not this one! Loaded with rich, bittersweet chocolate and sweetened with relatively little sugar (brown sugar, at that), it's intense and simple. The chocolate flavor is heightened even more by a hint of
fleur de sel
mixed in about halfway through the churning process. This isn't the first time I've said this, but it's key here: Use excellent chocolate. You will taste it!

 

MAKES ABOUT
1
QUART

 

1. Heat the cream and milk together in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat until bubbling around the edges, but not boiling.
   
2. Place the chocolate in a medium-size heatproof bowl. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, whisk the chocolate and cream mixture together until smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar until completely dissolved. Whisk in the
   fleur de sel.
   Refrigerate the chocolate mixture for at least 2 hours.
   
3. Pour the mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately, or transfer to a container and return to the freezer for a firmer ice cream.