Name: Chocolate Caramel Apple Tart
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: PT-476106H11M7S
Ingredients: 1 sheet store-bought frozen puff pastry, thawed; 3 medium apples, cored & thinly sliced (~385g after slicing) / I used a mix of EverCrisp and Pink Lady from Yes! Apples; 1/2 teaspoon table salt; 3/4 cup homemade caramel sauce (200g) / or store-bought; 1 bar of dark chocolate (70%), coarsely chopped (3.5oz, 100g) — don’t use morsels or chips!; Heavy whipping cream (for brushing over crust); Optional toppings: additional chocolate to melt & drizzle overtop, powdered sugar for dusting

Description

This chocolate caramel apple tart boasts a bittersweet bed of dark chocolate and juicy sweet apples tossed in caramel sauce, all baked to golden perfection inside some flaky puff pastry.

Ingredients

Scale

1 sheet store-bought frozen puff pastry, thawed
3 medium apples, cored & thinly sliced (~385g after slicing) / I used a mix of EverCrisp and Pink Lady from Yes! Apples
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cup homemade caramel sauce (200g) / or store-bought
1 bar of dark chocolate (70%), coarsely chopped (3.5oz, 100g) — don’t use morsels or chips!
Heavy whipping cream (for brushing over crust)
Optional toppings: additional chocolate to melt & drizzle overtop, powdered sugar for dusting

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Instructions

If you’re making the caramel sauce yourself, do that first! I’ve got a quick and easy recipe here you can use. You want to make sure your caramel has had time to cool and thicken before using.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out your thawed sheet of puff pastry into a ~13x9in. rectangle and place on a parchment-lined quarter baking sheet (half/full sheet also works just fine). Leaving a good 2 inch. border around the outside, poke some holes all around the middle of the pastry with a fork to allow steam to escape during the bake (10 pokes should do). Then, pop it in the fridge to keep cold while you prepare the apples.
Toss your thinly sliced apples (skins on or off, doesn’t matter—I liked the color they give) in a medium sized bowl with the salt. Then pour in your caramel sauce and toss with a spatula until evenly coated.
1. If using store-bought caramel sauce: make sure to heat it in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave on high for about 15-30 seconds so that it’s somewhat runny (but not too much). This ensures you’re able to easily toss the apples.
Take out your puff pastry from the fridge, arrange your coarsely chopped chocolate into an even layer in the middle (leaving the border untouched), and then overlap your apples in 3 rows overtop (see photos above). You’ll have caramel sauce left in the bowl, keep this in the fridge to drizzle overtop after the bake (optional).
Fold the sides of your puff pastry border overtop the apples to form a crust. Place the entire tart (still on the baking sheet) into the fridge for 15 minutes to let the puff pastry firm back up before baking.
Brush the crust with heavy whipping cream (~2 Tbsp.) and then bake in the middle rack of your oven at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until desired browning of the crust (30 minutes was perfect for me).
Let cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes and then carefully transfer to a separate rack to cool completely. Once cooled: drizzle with some extra melted chocolate, the remaining caramel sauce, or even dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Best enjoyed same-day, but will keep for 2 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

The reason you want to let your tart firm up in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking is to keep that buttery pastry cold. This results in the flakiest apple tart possible! Trust me.
If your crust unfolds during the bake—don’t stress! Mine did too almost every time. It’s less about creating a crust (like a galette where it stays put), than it is about making sure all the ingredients stay inside the tart and don’t seep out during the bake.