This Breton caramel tart has a sablé breton base, a layer of salted butter caramel and a whipped cream topping. Sablé breton is a pastry rich in egg yolks and butter, typical of the French region of Brittany. Salted butter caramel is another Breton speciality. Lightly sweetened whipped cream completes the tart.
Ingredients for a 25 cm Breton caramel tart
Sablé breton
- 200 g plain flour
- 125 g butter
- 110 g sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt. Separately, cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg yolks, and combine the two mixtures. Wrap in cling film, flatten and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. Roll out between two sheets of baking paper to 7–8 mm thick. Cut out a 25 cm circle, place it in a tin of the same size and bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes, until golden.
Filling
Salted caramel
- 100 g sugar
- 100 ml double cream
- 30 g butter
- ¼ tsp salt
Put the sugar in a heavy-based saucepan and make a dark caramel, without letting it burn. Meanwhile, warm the cream. Take the pan off the heat and pour in the hot cream little by little, stirring constantly and carefully, as it may spit. Add the butter and return to the heat until smooth. Finally, add the salt. Stir often and, once it is warm rather than hot, spread it over the base with a spatula and leave to cool.
Topping
- 500 ml double cream
- 50 g cream cheese
- 2 tbsp sugar
Whip the cream with the cream cheese. When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and keep whipping until it holds firm peaks.
Cover the top of the tart with balls of cream in different sizes, shaped with ice cream scoops.
Finishing
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Dust the cream lightly with ground cinnamon through a sieve and keep chilled until ready to serve.
