No-Bake Chocolate Caramel and Pretzel Tart
Alsace, how much we love this region, the cuisine, the ingredients that come from it and of course the pastries that are unique to this region. One of the products that can be found in almost every boulangerie in Alsace is the Bretzel (or the Pretzel as people outside the region call it).
Like many pastries and desserts, stories and legends have developed around the bretzel. One of the legends connects the prayer position of the monks with folded hands on the shoulders and the shape of the bretzel. In French bras = arms and from here the word bretzel was born.
Another interesting story is about a boulanger who in 1477 was imprisoned by the king because he did not bake the king’s bread properly and faced execution. The king gave the baker 3 days to make him bread through which 3 rays of the sun would pass. While the baker tried to invent the bread that would save his life, his wife prayed with her arms on her shoulders like the monks. When the baker noticed the form of his wife’s prayer, the idea flashed in his mind to make bread in this form and thus the bretzel was born. right or not? You can’t tell, but the story is charming.
On our last visit to Alsace we visited a local bretzel factory where we purchased a variety of bretzel products, including bretzel crumbs that are great for use in cakes and sweet snacks. This combination of sweet and salty is great and I keep trying to use these crumbs in different desserts. So here is one of them, a Chocolate Caramel and Pretzel tart.
No-Bake Chocolate Caramel and Pretzel Tart
Tart pan 20-22 cm in diameter
Ingredients 
Pretzel and Chocolate Layer:
200g pretzel crumbs
100g butter, melted
30g white chocolate, melted
Salted Caramel Layer:
150g± salted caramel cream, recipe inside
Chocolate Ganache:
220g heavy whipping cream
200g dark chocolate 70%, chopped (or half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate)
Fleur-de-Sel
Preparation
1. Pretzel and chocolate layer: In a big bowl or in a food processor mix together pretzel crumbs, melted butter and melted chocolate.
2. Transfer crust mixture to the tart pan and press crumbs evenly into the bottoms and up the sides. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Salted caramel layer: Spread the caramel cream evenly on the crust.
4. Chocolate ganache: In a medium pot heat the cream until almost boiling. Remove from heat and strain the cream into the bowl with the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for a minute before stirring. Using a spatula, slowly and gently begin to stir together the chocolate and cream. Keep the spatula in the center of the bowl, touching the bottom, without lifting it out, so that air bubbles aren’t incorporated in. You should be stirring slowly and carefully for a few minutes until you have a glossy ganache with no air bubbles.
5. Pour the ganache into the crust, sprinkle a few flakes of Fleur-de-Sel. Cool to room temperature (if the room is warm, it’s better to chill in the refrigerator). The tart can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, but It’s best when fresh.
6. Cut into slices and enjoy 🙂
Bon-Appétit
Sharon
