Chocolate Tart with Caramel

Combine the flour and powdered sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer on low speed. Add the unsalted butter, and mix on medium speed until you get a shaggy dough with clumps no bigger than the size of peas. Alternatively, you can use a pastry blender or food processor if you don't have a stand mixer.

Stream in a teaspoon of cold water at a time until your dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a compact mass. Roll out a sheet of plastic wrap and turn the dough out onto the plastic. Wrap the dough and press down on it to create a disc shape. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. If you have a 6-inch tart pan, grease the pan well. If you're using a 6-inch cake pan, as done here, line the bottom of the cake pan with a sheet of parchment paper. Use the extra scraps from the parchment paper to create 2-inch wide strips that can be used against the inside edges of the cake pan, but don't place these strips in the pan just yet.

Lightly sprinkle a wood board or pastry marble with flour. Turn the dough out onto the prepared surface. Sprinkle a pinch of flour over the dough before rolling the dough out into a 1/4 inch thick circle. Gently lift the dough circle off the board and center it into the prepared pan. Lightly fold the edges of the dough inward so that you can slip those 2-inch wide parchment paper strips into the pan against the edges. Now lift the dough edges back up and mold them against the edges of the pan. Use a sharp knife to cut off the rim of the dough anywhere where it might be sitting up much higher than another area of the dough. Use these cut off scraps to add dough to wherever may need a little more height along the rim of the tart crust.

Prick all along the bottom of the dough with a fork. Place a sheet of parchment paper inside the pan, on top of the dough, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Blind bake the crust for 11 minutes, then remove the parchment paper with the pie weights/beans, and bake the crust for another 10 to 12 minutes, just until the edges are beginning to golden. Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

In a small saucepan, warm the butter, cream, and milk just until it's beginning to boil. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl, then pour the hot liquid in the pan over the chocolate. Let the chocolate rest in this hot liquid bath for 1 minute, then stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

Add the egg into the chocolate, then stir until completely incorporated and smooth. You will notice that the chocolate batter has gotten thicker because of the egg.

Place the caramel squares at the bottom of the prepared tart crust, evenly spacing them out. Pour the chocolate filling over the caramel, filling the crust just until the chocolate reaches the very top of the crust and meets the rim.

Bake the tart for 16 minutes, then let the tart rest on the counter until it's nearly room temperature. Cover and transfer to the fridge to cool for 2 hours before serving.