It never ceases to amaze me just how fast the biggest meals go rushing by before our very eyes. As cooks we spend days, even weeks choosing our menu, shopping for our ingredients, and stocking our fridges to the gills with containers filled with our raw materials. We cook and cook our hearts out until the last guest has taken his seat at the table, the last bowl of soup placed upon the serving plate.

And then, for one exquisite moment, not a word is spoken and the only sound that can be heard is that of silver brushing against china. For those of us who love entertaining, this is the payoff for all of our toils.

That beautiful moment of silence, an homage to to the cook, is of course followed by lots and lots of satisfied grunting, chomping, and gulping, and if you are dining with my soon-to-be -in-laws, a healthy dose of rambunctious laughter as well. Too soon, it’s over; careful cooking is reduced to leftovers and dishes. And this is why the dessert course is so important. It puts on the breaks after a fast-paced meal, giving us time to stop and savor, not just the food, but each other too. The way I see it, the better the desserts, the longer folks will linger, and maybe they’ll even stick around to help with the dishes.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Tart
Adapted from Saveur, Issue #119 from Marlow & Sons in Brooklyn

This tart recipe comes from a restaurant that holds a very soft spot in my heart. It was a huge hit at Thanksgiving this year, satisfying both the caramel lovers and the chocolate lovers at the table. I love the contrast of sweet and salty, complimenting the deep dark chocolate and the tender, cookie-like crust. It’s perfect for the holidays because it can be made in advance (and ideally, needs to be, since there are three steps with three pauses for things to cool or set), freeing the cook from the burden of thinking about it on the day of the big meal or having it take up oven space.

Serves 8 (or more in a multi-dessert situation)

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 cup heavy cream
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Gray sea salt or Maldon 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, line with foil or crumpled parchment, fill with pie weights (I have a jar of beans that I use over and over for this purpose), and bake until it is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack, remove the weights and liner 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°. 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, at least 3 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, at least 2 hours. Sprinkle tart with sea salt, slice, and serve chilled.

No matter which way you lean politically, tomorrow is an important day for America, and despite that fact that I know Obama will not be the instant miracle pill that cures our ills overnight, I am going to sleep a bit better tonight knowing tomorrow that competent and level-headed leadership will be restored. I’ve had a hard time deciding how to celebrate this long-awaited event, and I resolved that chewy, creamy, salty/sweet caramel making was the answer. 

I know that the salted caramel trend is so five years ago, but really – if something is this good, then I for one will make it, rave about it and share it with friends. Besides, salted caramel is rumored to be a favorite of Obama, although he prefers the kind coated in dark chocolate (file that for another day). With that kind of political clout behind salted caramels, perhaps they will become all the rage once again?

Since the flavor and texture of caramel is strongly influenced by butter, be sure to use the best. I tried the European-style butter from Whole Foods (85% butter fat) for the first time and got the exact same results as I’ve seen with French brands I’ve used in the past for caramel making. 

The other star player in this recipe is fleur de sel, which literally translates “flower of salt” and is harvested off the top of salt collecting pans by hand in France. My favorite thing about fleur de sel is its texture and appearance – it is shimmery and perfectly imperfect.

Bring the cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then set it aside.

I added the seeds from a quarter of a vanilla bean that I happened to have on hand because I like the subtle vanilla flavor under the salt and I think that the dark specks make the caramel even more beautiful.

Cook the sugar, corn syrup, and water until it turns a deep gold color (I attempted to cook the sugar longer to achieve a deeper, more bitter caramel, but I still didn’t get it as dark as I had hoped – better luck next time) and then add the cream mixture. Closely monitor your thermometer as you stir constantly for about ten minutes. Remove from heat and pour out into the pan the moment the temperature reaches 248 degrees.

Allow the caramel to cool for two hours on the counter before placing it in the fridge for an additional half hour, which will make the caramels easier to cut.

Resist the temptation to scrape the excess caramel from the bottom and sides of the pan when you are pouring it out, as this will make your caramel tough. Instead, scrape the excess out after you are done pouring and drip it onto parchment for some instant gratification.

After you have chilled the caramels, cut them into pieces. 

Cut wax paper into 4 inch squares and roll up the caramels tightly, twisting at each end. I used natural beeswax paper which I think looked prettier than the usual white stuff, and it wasn’t as sticky. The caramels make a fun, portable treat that I’ll be using to spread some Obama love everywhere I go.

Fleur de Sel Caramels
Adapted from Gourmet, October 2004

1 cup heavy cream

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon fleur de sel

1/4 vanilla bean 

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

Special equipment: parchment paper; a deep-fat thermometer

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.

Bring cream, butter, the scraping from the inside of the vanilla bean and the pod, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside. Remove the pod of the vanilla bean.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.