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Thursday, January 7, 2010

Chocolate Covered Pretzels to the Extreme--Milk Chocolate Pretzel Tart!


If you haven't guessed it by now, I absolutely, positively, ridiculously adore pretzels and salty/sweet snacks and desserts.  Ever since I was a baby, I ate pretzels by the bag full...there had to be a stash of them in the car or I wouldn't even get in.  I think you are either a chip person (potato or tortilla) or a pretzel person and I am a pretzel person.

When I first came across this recipe in Food & Wine Magazine, it inspired me to make the pretzel muddie buddies a few weeks ago--remember those...

...if not, here's a quick reminder...

pretzels and chocolate and peanut butter coated in powdered sugar...yum.

Now back to the tart...on Sunday, my mom asked me to make something for her to bring to a holiday lunch with her "Mah-Jong" friends...(don't ask me how to play this game, but my mom is obsessed)

I still had another bag of pretzels in the cabinet and the whole day free without HW...woo hoo!

I know, this recipe takes a lot of time to make...it's not hard, or too many ingredients, just lots of fridge and cooling time, but trust me...it is worth the wait.  I recommend making it the day before you need to serve it! 

Let's get started on the Crust!


 
...you will need to chop 1 1/4 cups thin pretzels (3 1/2 ounces)


Add 3/4 cup of the crushed pretzels to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, (set aside the remaining 1/2 cup of crushed pretzels)


add 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (TEENTIP:  I cube my butter to soften it quicker) and...


add 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar...


mix on low speed until creamy



Beat in 1 large egg and


1/2 cup all-purpose flour, mix until combined and then...


  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of pretzels, being sure to leave some pretzel pieces intact.




 
 
Flatten the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the tart pan; It's best to use one that has a removable bottom, the recipe calls for a 12 inch round, mine is about 4 x12 which worked fine (and we had enough left to make a second tart in a 4 inch round to eat ourselves)


spray pan



cut parchment to fit on bottom


 
press securely to pan and spray top of parchment....do you notice how many pictures have close-ups of my pink nail polish :-)


remove dough from fridge quickly roll it out to fit tart pan


 remove plastic wrap from top






flip the dough over the pan, press into tart pan


remove plastic wrap and press the dough into the corners and fill in any spaces that may be missing some dough...pretty right?


 

cover dough with parchment paper and add pie weights which I don't have...(TEENTIP:  Use ramekins instead of weights if you don't have any either) and put back into fridge for 30 minutes.

PREHEAT OVEN to 350 and when ready, bake tart for about 25-30 minutes, until nearly set. Remove the parchment and weights and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the tart shell is firm; cover the edge with foil if it darkens too much--which I did




.....time for the Chocolate!
 
 
coarsely chop 2 ounces of bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate...(I used semi-sweet) and set aside until crust is ready.



 
coarsely chop 12 ounces (3 bars) of good quality milk chocolate



when golden brown, remove crust from oven, take off foil is used and place on cooling rack, immediately sprinkle with chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate


spread an even coating with a offset spatula, let chocolate and crust cool, can put in fridge for 10 minutes if you want.




Meanwhile, make the filling: In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups of cream to a simmer.


 

Turn off the heat, add the milk chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes.





Whisk until smooth. Transfer the filling to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

..more waiting ....

but you know what they say....good things come to those who wait:-)



 
Pour the filling into the shell and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
You can garnish the top with sea salt and crushed pretzels--I opted for the pretzels.



Enjoy!  If you like chocolate covered pretzels...you will love this!!!



one more shot!

The only sad part was that my mom was taking this to her friends...


but I made a 4 inch tart too for me and dad...it went in 2 seconds flat!

With love and cupcakes,
Cookteen

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine Magazine
Milk-Chocolate Tart with Pretzel Crust
Recipe by Colleen Grapes

Ingredients

Crust:
  1. 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  2. 1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed thin pretzels (3 1/2 ounces)
  3. 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
  4. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  5. 1 large egg
  6. 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Filling:
  1. 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  2. 3/4 pound milk chocolate, chopped
  3. Maldon sea salt, crushed pretzels and crème fraîche, for serving

Directions
  1. Make the crust: In a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with 3/4 cup of the pretzels and the confectioners’ sugar at low speed until creamy. Beat in the flour and egg. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of pretzels, being sure to leave some pretzel pieces intact. Flatten the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll out the dough between the sheets of plastic wrap to a 12-inch round. Peel off the top sheet and invert the dough over a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the corners and patch any tears. Trim the overhanging dough and refrigerate the shell for 30 minutes or until firm.
  3. Line the shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for about 30 minutes, until nearly set. Remove the parchment and weights and bake for 10 to 15 minutes longer, until the tart shell is firm; cover the edge with foil if it darkens too much. Let the shell cool completely. Brush the melted chocolate over the bottom and up the side and refrigerate for 10 minutes, until set.
  4. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a medium saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Off the heat, add the milk chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Transfer the filling to a bowl and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
  5. Pour the filling into the shell and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and crushed pretzels. Cut into wedges, top with crème fraîche; serve.



8 comments:

  1. Pretzels are my favorite, esp. with chocolate, this would be dangerous in our house:)

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  2. I love pretzels and chocolate! This looks fantastic - definitely making this soon :)

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  3. Yum!! I Got new Tart Pans for Christmas, this looks like a great recipe to try them out in. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. This looks really delish! I love pretzels and can only imagine how yummy they make this crust. I really must buy a tart pan..tarts are so much prettier than pies. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. This looks completely divine. Very creative and a dressed up lovefest for the next time I have girls over for a casual night in!

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  6. This is so creative! I cant wait to try it. I am telling everyone I know about your blog i just found it and I adore it! Thank you!

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  7. Thanks for all the amazing comments!! You guys rock!!

    ReplyDelete

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