It’s Tuesday.

It’s not nearly close enough to Friday.

And it’s pouring.

In my desperate attempt to see the clouded bright side, my thoughts, naturally, turned to therapeutic chocolate-delights.

A day of dampened spirits is the perfect excuse for a night of fancy chocolate desserts.

And this salted chocolate caramel tart is just what the doctor ordered. Well, the hypothetical, chocolate-condoning, doctor that lies dormant in my mind until chocolate-prescriptions need to be issued…

And let’s be honest: he’s a fairly hard-working chap.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart

Adapted from Saveur

Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp dutch-process unsweetened
cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
10 Tbsp (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

FOR THE CARAMEL:
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 tsp kosher salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp sour cream

FOR THE GANACHE:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
Kosher salt for garnish

Directions
1. Make the crust: Heat oven to 350˚. Combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until mixture is pale and fluffy; mix in yolks and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Transfer dough to a 9″ fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (I used individual tart pans instead) and press dough evenly into bottom and sides of pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Prick the tart shell all over with a fork and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

2. Make the caramel: In a 1-qt. saucepan, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 6 Tbsp water and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer inserted into the syrup reads 340° (be patient). Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and sour cream (the mixture will bubble up) until smooth. Pour caramel into cooled tart shell and let cool slightly; refrigerate until firm, 4–5 hours.

3. Make the ganache: Bring cream to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Put chocolate into a medium bowl and pour in hot cream; let sit for 1 minute, then stir slowly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours. Sprinkle tart with kosher salt, slice, and serve chilled.

These babies will grace any poor-weather day with a little ray of sunshine.