A tahini caramel & chocolate tart with sesame brittle, all crisp buttery pastry, vanilla and tahini caramel and rich, smooth swirls of chocolate ganache. Jump to Recipe
As part of most medical school programs, the final year includes a short elective rotation where you can organise to go (almost) anywhere in the world – a chance to experience a different health system from your own. I’ve just landed back in London for mine – partially an excuse for 6 weeks of restaurant hopping, weekends abroad and catching up with friends from my stint in Oxford last year. (I am actually really looking forward to the elective itself too!). It’s only been three days, but they’ve included stopping off for coffee and flaky citrus morning buns at my new local, Brick House Bakery; oat milk flat whites at the Shoreditch Grind (first time trying Oatly, not entirely convinced but also not bad); early jet-lagged runs around misty, boggy Dulwich Park, all rugged up in layers; keep-cups of Monmouth coffee (the best) and purchases of smoked Maldon salt and Aleppo chilli flakes at the Borough Market; a hearty bowl of dahl with eggplant and flatbread at 26 Grains; and gazing in at the cake displays of my dreams at Ottolenghi Spitalfields – it already feels like I barely left. I also already feel like I underestimated my food budget… (budgeting is really not a strong point over here).
I have a couple of side trips planned so far: one to stay with a friend in Dublin, and one to Amsterdam, so any recommendations for either of those places would be very much appreciated – to eat or to see!
Now to the recipe: a tahini caramel chocolate tart with sesame brittle. I made it multiple times to get it right, and each time one component struggled – once with a shrinking, crumbly pastry, the second with a far too chewy caramel, a few more times for luck – thank goodness I had family, housemates and work colleagues to feed it too (and luckily they didn’t mind/notice the flaws as much as I did). It’s a quick short and sweet pastry, buttery and crisp, blind baked and topped with a silky tahini and vanilla scented salted caramel sauce. Swoops of creamy chocolate ganache and nutty shards of sesame brittle top it off. Yes, it’s rich and intense and a bit of a sugar rush, but it’s a proper dessert, and you can always serve small pieces – a little goes a long way (though some will want seconds – i.e. me). My dad told me it was possibly the best dessert I’ve made, so I’ll take that. (Admittedly, he does love rich chocolate and caramel, so if you’re a fruit person you probably won’t agree!).
- 220 g flour
- 60 g icing sugar
- pinch of salt
- 150 unsalted butter refrigerator cold, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 60 g sesame seeds
- 50 g caster sugar
- 50 g glucose syrup (also called corn syrup)
- 25 g unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- 300 g caster sugar 1 1/2 cups
- 80 ml water 1/3 cup
- 85 g butter
- 125 ml cream (1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons runny tahini
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon sea salt (to taste)
- 113 g dark chocolate finely chopped
- 125 ml cream (1/2 cup)
- 30 g unsalted butter
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Using a food processor, blitz the flour, salt and icing sugar to combine.
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Add the cold butter cubes, and blitz until only pea sized lumps remain.
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Add the egg and vanilla. Blitz a few times until larger lumps start to form. It will still be quite crumbly at this stage.
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Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly and gently bring it together with your hands into a smooth disc. Don’t ‘knead’ the dough - over working it makes likely to shrink back when baked and be tougher.
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Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.
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Lightly grease a 26cm tart tin with butter.
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Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface to just fit the size of your tart tin.
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Gently lift the pastry (I fold mine over my rolling pin) into the tart tin, gently pressing into the base and up the sides. Trim the top where it comes over the side of the tin with a sharp knife. Press the edges with your fingers so they just pop 1-2mm up above the top of the tin.
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Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
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To blind bake the pastry, preheat the oven to 180°C.
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Use a crumpled piece of baking paper or tin foil to line the tart tin, and fill the tin with baking beans or rice to weigh it down. Bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is dry underneath the baking paper. Remove the baking paper and beans, then return the tart to the oven to bake for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.
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Set aside to cool.
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Preheat the oven to 180°C.
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In a dry pan, toast the sesame seeds over medium heat, stirring constantly until shades of golden.
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Cut 2 large pieces of baking paper to fit on a large baking tray. Lay one sheet out on a flat heatproof surface.
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In a medium pot, combine the caster sugar, glucose syrup, butter and salt. Heat until the butter is melted, sugar dissolved and it is just coming to a boil. Add the sesame seeds and stir through.
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Pour the brittle out onto the sheet of baking paper. Place the second sheet on top, and use a rolling pin to gently spread the brittle into a flat sheet (~3mm thick.)
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Lift the paper and brittle onto the baking tray. Gently peel the top piece of baking paper off and discard. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden. Set aside to cool.
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In a medium pot, combine the caster sugar and water. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, swirling occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved.
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Meanwhile, measure out the butter and cream to have them ready to go.
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Watch the sugar, without stirring, as it boils until it starts to caramelise around the edges. When patches start to turn golden, swirl the pan so that the sugar caramelises evenly.
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When the caramel is golden, remove from the heat. Carefully add the butter and stir - it will bubble and steam, so don’t have your hand too close. Gradually stream in the cream, stirring constantly, until combined.
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Stir in the tahini, vanilla and sea salt. Set aside to cool and thicken - taste to adjust the tahini and sea salt once cool enough.
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When ready to fill the blind baked tart tin, check that the caramel is still pourable - if it is too thick, microwave for 10 seconds or heat gently just until it is.
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Pour the caramel into the pastry case and use a spatula to spread out to the edges.
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Place the tart in the fridge for at least an hour to set.
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Place the finely chopped dark chocolate in a bowl
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In a small saucepan, heat the cream and butter until simmering (almost but not quite boiling).
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Pour over the dark chocolate, making sure the chocolate is all underneath hot cream.
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Leave for 5 minutes, then use a fork to stir until the ganache is smooth.
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Let cool until thickened - it needs to be thick enough to swirl on top of the tart.
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Remove tart from the tin. Swirl the ganache on top of the tart. Top with shards of sesame brittle and flaky sea salt.
Tahini and sesame flavored desserts forever!
I wonder what would happen if you left the butter out altogether and replaced it with tahini (or perhaps mix of tahini + mild olive oil and perhaps a spoonful of shiro miso…). I might have to test it 🙂
I so agree!! Hm I think you could probably replace it with tahini, it might just be a bit thicker – so yes, olive oil and tahini would probably work. Would love to hear how it goes if you try it out! Thanks Maikki
As a rich chocolate dessert person like your dad, this is right up my alley! Your stay in London sounds absolutely delicious – seriously jealous over here!
Thanks Alanna! I miss it already – especially since they’re now going into summer. Wish it wasn’t on the other side of the world to Australia!
This sounds insanely good! And I’m super jealous of your time in London. It’s possibly my favorite city I’ve ever been to in the world. I do have a blog post on my site about my time in Amsterdam … we were only there for about a day and a half but I’ve got a few good recommendations on there!
Hello ! Just returned from Netherlands and would truly recommend a trip to Dordrecht ! Amazing place to go to by river bus fro Rotterdam. I enjoy your blog very much, of course 🙂
You had me at tahini chocolate and then you added sesame brittle and my jaw dropped to the floor. I would devour this! I hope you enjoy all your restauranting and traveling!