Pretzel Crust Milk Chocolate Tart
Guess what? Shavuot is in less than a week! And Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that's alllllllll about those dairy desserts.
But I decided to forgo posting a cheesecake recipe on the blog this year, which is the most common and traditional dairy dessert that frequents households in honor of Shavuot.
This year, in place of a cheesecake, I am presenting what in my opinion is a far more unique (and dare I say delicious) dairy dessert: a milk chocolate tart. With a pretzel crust.
And if you've never tasted a tart with a pretzel crust before, no biggie, but your life is just about to change forever.
Also, I may be slightly biased because I'm not in love with cheesecakes in general. But moving on.
The pretzel crust has a salty + sweet combo that's alarmingly addictive. It's crunchy and crispy, but there's a little confectioner's sugar added to make it a bit more tender. And then there's a stick of butter mixed in to help the mixture stick together and to lend a delicious, buttery taste.
Salty pretzels + sugar + butter = life-changing, chewy, crunchy, tender, sweet, salty, buttery, incredible tart crust. To put it mildly.
And the filling, the milk chocolate ganache filling. It's so very simple.
Ganache is usually made up of two core ingredients: chocolate and heavy cream.
Usually, a ganache is made with dark chocolate. But in this recipe, milk chocolate is the chocolate of choice, because the more milky and creamy and rich and dairy-laden, the better. Obviously.
There's also vanilla extract and a dash of salt added to the milk chocolate ganache. I challenge you to find a recipe on this blog that doesn't have vanilla extract or salt in it. I always include it. Salt really brings out all the flavors in your recipe, and vanilla adds even more flavor and enhances most every recipe.
If you're worried about this tart being a time-consuming or difficult recipe, lay your fears to rest. Because this tart is the opposite of that. It's simple. And quick. And easy. Despite the fact that it looks and sounds fancy and complicated.
All you gotta do is mix together three ingredients for the crust and press them into your tart pan. And then bake the crust for 10 minutes. So far so good, right?
And for the filling, you just pour hot heavy cream over chopped chocolate, let it sit and melt, and then mix in the vanilla extract and salt. Still simple, aye?
And then you pour the chocolate filling into the pre-baked pretzel crust. And refrigerate the tart overnight to allow the filling to harden. Das it.
The filling won't be rock solid even after refrigeration. It'll still be slightly soft and very creamy and smooth and rich. You may not be able to achieve a perfectly neat, smooth slice because of the creaminess of the filling, but who needs perfect when you have perfectly messy and delicious?
Crunchy, salty + sweet, tender pretzel crust filled with a creamy, rich, smooth milk chocolate filling. What I'm trying to say is, move aside cheesecake, and make way for this pretzel crust milk chocolate tart. You've had your turn, but now it's somebody else's.
pretzel crust milk chocolate tart
Yield: 9'' tart
Pretzel Crust:
1 1/2 cups coarse, salted pretzel crumbs
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 stick butter, almost melted
Milk Chocolate Ganache Filling:
12 oz. milk chocolate
6 oz. heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dash salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9" tart pan with removable bottom.
Crust: In a food processor, pulse salted pretzels until you get coarse crumbs. Measure out 1 1/2 cups.
In a medium bowl, mix pretzel crumbs with confectioner's sugar and butter until evenly coated.
Pour pretzel crust into prepared tart pan, pressing and packing it firmly with the bottom of a glass cup into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake crust for about 10-11 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Let cool while preparing filling.
Filling: Chop the milk chocolate finely. Place into a large bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a pot or in the microwave until it just begins to boil.
Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes before gently stirring the chocolate and cream together until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract and salt. Pour filling into the cooled pretzel crust, smoothing top.
Refrigerate tart overnight before slicing and serving. Garnish with crushed pretzels, cocoa powder, or whipped cream if desired.
