Peanut Butter, Caramel and Chocolate Tart

After last week’s super healthy recipe we’re all good for something a bit more indulgent like this Peanut Butter, Caramel and Chocolate Tart that crossed my path recently. It is a recipe from one of my favourite bloggers, Milk and Honey. I love Jennifer’s recipes and find myself making and baking them time and again.

The Peanut Butter, Caramel and Chocolate Tart is a utterly delicious flavour combination of dark chocolate, caramel and peanut butter. The biscuit base is covered with melted chocolate, then spoonful or two of dulce de leche (caramel), a layer of nutty cheesecake and some more chocolate and peanuts for added flavour and texture.

I tweaked the recipe slightly and added the layer of caramel to replace the addition of condensed milk to the cheesecake filling. I then replace the digestive biscuits with pretzels to make a salty and crunchy crust. You can use digestive biscuits as per the original recipe but just reduce the butter by 20 grams. If you are using the pretzels, the crust might be a bit too dry so just add some more melted butter until the crumbs come together to form the crust.

The tart is not too sweet but quite rich. Taste the peanut butter cheesecake mixture and add some more sugar if you feel it is not sweet enough (don’t forget it will be on a layer of caramel). If you are using digestive biscuits as a crust I doubt it will be necessary but since the pretzels are quite salty you may need to add a bit more to taste.

I do hope you enjoy these delicious layers of salty, bitter and sweet!

I am off to Denmark tomorrow to attend the 2017 FoodPhoto Festival. It is four days of workshops, conference, exhibition and showing your portfolio to art buyers, editors and directors. I am first spending a week in Copenhagen exploring, eating, drinking and getting inspired in one of my favourite cities so do follow along on my Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Yum

Peanut Butter, Caramel and Chocolate Tart

Ingredients

Ingredients
For the Base:
200g Pretzels
120g butter, melted
For the Filling:
90g unsalted butter, chopped
85g dark chocolate, finely chopped
125ml caramel (dulce de leche) (about ½ tin )
180g smooth peanut butter
125g cream cheese
45ml caster sugar
250ml whipping cream
For the Topping:
60g dark chocolate, melted
30g chopped peanuts

Instructions

Method
Make the Base:
Preheat the oven to 150°C
Put the biscuits into a food processor and blitz until you have a fine meal
Add the melted butter and mix. If the mix is too dry add a bit more melted butter
Press the biscuit mix into the base and sides of a loose-bottomed 35 cm x 13 cm rectangular pan
Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool completely
Make the Filling:
Put the chocolate and butter into a heat-proof bowl and sit the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Don’t let the bowl touch the water
Stir until melted
Cool in the fridge until it is a spreadable consistency and spread it over the cooled base and put it back in the refrigerator to chill
Once the chocolate layer has set spoon over the caramel, spread evenly and return the tart to the fridge
Combine the peanut butter, cream cheese and mix until smooth (it will be a thick consistency)
In a separate bowl, whip the cream and sugar until very soft peaks form
Add the peanut butter mixture and whip until well mixed and smooth
Pour the filling into the tart base and smooth the top
Make the Topping:
Spoon the melted chocolate into a disposable piping bag, cut a small hole in the tip and drizzle over the top of the tart
Sprinkle the peanuts on top and serve