Chocolate coffee caramel tart

Instructions

• Prepare the tart crust
• In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, ground cardamom, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the mixture until the butter pieces are no larger than the size of a pea.
• Mix together the egg yolk, ice water, and vanilla and pour over the flour and butter mixture. Stir with a fork to distribute the liquid and then use your hands to start pressing the dough together until you’re able to form a ball. Flatten into a disk. Place on a piece of parchment and roll out to about 2″ in diameter larger than the base of your tart pan. Cover the top with plastic wrap and let refrigerate for at least one hour or up to overnight.
• Once the dough has rested, remove it from the fridge and let it sit for about 5 minutes, just to become slightly more malleable. Gently flip the dough over onto the center of the tart pan and peel away the parchment. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the tart pan, ensuring that the dough tightly lines the pan, especially at the place where the bottom and the sides meet. Use excess dough hanging over the side to patch any spots as needed. Then roll a rolling pin over the top of the tart pan to remove all excess dough overhang. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate again for at least one hour or overnight.
• When your dough is thoroughly chilled, preheat the oven to 375F. Make pricks all across the dough with a fork, line the bottom with foil or the leftover parchment paper and place a layer of baking weights on top (dried beans or rice work just fine). Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the center is no longer moist. Remove the pie weights and parchment and bake for another 5-7 minutes until there are no visible moist patches remaining. Let cool completely.
• Make the caramel
• To make the caramel, start by heating 1/3 cup of cream along with the instant coffee in a small saucepan on medium low heat. Heat, stirring occasionally until the coffee granules have completely dissolved. Then remove from the heat. Measure out 1/4 cup and set aside.
• Add the sugar to a large saute pan. Place over medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Once some of the sugar begins to melt, stir more frequently to dissolve the sugar granules and promote even browning. The mixture may still have a few little sugar clumps but just keep stirring patiently until the mixture turns a deep amber color and has just started to smoke. You’ll notice the smell change at this point too to a rich caramely, nearly burnt but not quite kind of smell. Immediately remove from the heat and stir in butter one tablespoon at a time to melt, being careful to keep a distance from the pan, as the butter may splatter at first. Then pour in the 1/4 cup of heavy cream and add the salt. Let cool for about 3-5 minutes and then pour into the tart shell. Chill until the caramel is set, at least one hour.
• Make the ganache
• Place the chocolate in a bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream, instant coffee, and cardamom just until the cream comes to a light simmer and begins to steam. Pour into the bowl of chocolate and let sit for about 3-5 minutes. Then whisk to melt the remaining chocolate until you have a satiny, smooth mixture. Stir in the salt. If you have any chocolate clumps remaining, you can transfer to a saucepan and heat very gradually over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. Pour over the caramel layer, even out with a spatula, and place in the fridge to set, at least 2 hours.
• Prior to serving, sprinkle the top of the tart with flaky sea salt and place at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Then slice and enjoy. Leftovers can be covered in plastic wrap and kept in the fridge for several days.