Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am thankful for family, friends and four day weekends.  How's that for alliterative?  And of course I'm incredibly thankful for grace--where would I be without it?

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Mom always has the traditional desserts covered, so I branched out a bit this year and went with one of my favorite and often blogged about flavor combos....chocolate, caramel and sea salt.  More specifically in this case, a Caramel Chocolate Tart with Grey Salt. 

I really wanted to try this new red sea salt that I have, because how cool is red sea salt? 

But in the end, I chickened out.  The red comes from hibiscus apparently, and putting salt on a tart will probably already scare my family.  Still, how cool is red sea salt?  Maybe on the chocolate sea salt caramels for Christmas.

Chocolate Caramel Tart with Grey Salt
From Saveur Issue  #119

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. unsalted butter, cubed and softened
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
2 egg yolks, preferably at room temperature
1⁄2 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. crème fraîche

FOR THE GANACHE
1/2 tbls unsalted butter
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Grey sea salt for garnish

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 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 365°. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, cream, and crème fraîche (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 and add 1/2 tbls unsalted butter Pour ganache evenly over tart and refrigerate until set, 4–5 hours.
Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.