Salted caramel tart

This has become a staple throughout my career; it was one of the first things on the menu when I started my bakery, Lockdown Loaves, and is possibly one of my all time favourite desserts.

Ingredients

For the sweet pastry

• 200g caster sugar
• 300g butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 500g flour
• 4g salt
• For the salted caramel
• 500g double cream
• 140g caster sugar
• 135g egg yolks
• 35g muscovado sugar
• Salt, to taste

Method

For the sweet pastry

1. Beat the sugar and butter together in a stand mixer, slowly pour in the eggs, then gradually add the flour and salt in three parts.
2. Work everything together until the mixture forms a soft dough, then cover and chill your pastry in the fridge overnight.
3. Roll out the chilled pastry, line your tart tin with it, trimming off any overhang, then rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Blind bake the tart case at 180°c for around 30 minutes, checking now and then to make sure it’s on the right track. The pastry should be golden and firm when done. I would recommend using a 28cm (11 inch) tart tin here, but you could easily adapt the recipe to fit different sized tins.

For the salted caramel

1. Warm the double cream over a gentle heat.
2. Meanwhile, melt your caster sugar in a separate pan and have the yolks and muscovado sugar mixed together in a separate bowl ready to use.
3. When the sugar in the pan has turned into a golden caramel, very gradually add the warm cream while mixing gently. Be very careful not to burn yourself as it will bubble up and emit a lot of very hot steam.
4. Once the cream and caramel are combined, gradually pour in the egg and sugar mixture while stirring continuously. Add salt to taste and then pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any lumps.
5. Pour the salted caramel filling into the pre-baked tart case and bake at 100°c until the centre of the tart is no longer liquid, but still has a slight wobble.
6. Check after 30 minutes and keep an eye on it; the total baking time could be up to an hour depending on your oven.
7. When done, leave the tart to cool at room temperature before slicing and serving.

A recipe from From Beder's Kitchen,a charity cookbook with all proceeds supporting Beder in its work to raise awareness around mental health and suicide prevention.

This originally appeared on House & Garden UK