This stunning but simple Chocolate Pecan Tart with Caramel Sauce is a dessert for any occasion.
Not often do you find a dessert that achieves that unlikely goal of being easy-to-make, yet tastes and looks extravgant. This is one of those recipes. The crust is a delightful combination of ground pecans, sugar and butter with a touch of cinnamon. The cinnamon really takes it up a notch.
No one believes this ganache filling is only melted chocolate and whipping cream. But it is! The key to the filling is to use high quality chocolate. You can make the decadent homemade caramel sauce or hit the easy button with a store-bought option. Top your dessert plates with sweet little strawberry fans and serve up this treat that’s sure to impress.
The Evolution of the Chocolate Pecan Tart with Caramel Sauce
This is one of the first recipes I blogged back in 2015. I didn’t even understand the concept of food blogging. Meaning, the basic premise was that you were supposed to write a story, including tips, etc. Not just throw a recipe out on the internet with a tiny grainy photo. While I’ve upgraded many of my old recipes, I’ve never made it back this far until now.
I was finally motivated to dust off this recipe because I needed a simple dessert with a wow factor for dinner at my brother and sister-in-law’s house. They were grilling up a feast of salmon and vegetables; the least I could do was make it look like I put in a little effort on the dessert. The great news is that all it takes is a little effort.
What Chocolate To Use
There is a lot of flexibility in the chocolate filling. You can use chocolate chips or chop up bars. The key is to use good quality chocolate. I used Ghirardelli semisweet chips on this version. I am also a fan of Guittard chocolate chips.
You can use whatever percentage of cocoa solids you prefer. My husband was a fan of 70%, but I am a semisweet girl (which is in the 35%-65% range.) You can even go with milk chocolate. But be aware that the combination of a milk chocolate filling and the caramel sauce would make for a very sweet dessert.
Caramel Sauce Options
I absolutely love this homemade caramel sauce. But I was in need of an easier option on this occasion. So I bought a high-quality sea salt caramel sauce which was also very good. Not quite the same as homemade. But sometimes the easy button on one part of a recipe motivates us to still make something from scratch.
Strawberry Fans
The strawberries provide a pop of color and fresh fruitiness to offset the sweet, rich nature of this dessert. If you’ve never made a strawberry fan, here are the simple instructions.
Delicious Desserts
Here are some of my other easy but impressive dessert recipes
Chocolate Pecan Tart with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups pecans
- 1/4 cup golden brown sugar packed
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
Filling
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 12 ounces good semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped bars
Caramel Sauce (you can substitute store-bought sauce instead)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
Garnish
- strawberry fans
Instructions
Tart
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Blend the first 3 ingredients in a food processor until the nuts are finely ground. Add butter and blend until well combined. Then press the nut mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
Filling
- In a medium, heavy saucepan, bring cream to a simmer. Add chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate into the crust. Cover and refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours.) You can prepare the tart and the sauce a day in advance.
Caramel Sauce (you can substitute store-bought sauce instead)
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sugar and cook until deep golden brown, whisking frequently, about 10 minutes. The mixture goes from a very grainy to a more smooth paste-like texture after approximately 10 minutes. Add cream and cook at a low boil until sauce is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, whisking frequently. The sugar will initially harden into clumps when the cream is added but will melt again as the sauce is boiling. It takes approximately 15-30 minutes to reduce the sauce (depending on your heat.) A longer, slower boil will continue to deepen the color of the caramel sauce. Cool slightly before serving. If making caramel sauce in advance, rewarm until free-flowing.
Finish
- Slice tart and drizzle with caramel sauce then top with strawberry fan.
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