Dark Chocolate Pretzel Brittle Tart
For a dessert that delves into the more savory, salty, and bitter end of the sweet spectrum, look no further than this dark chocolate ganache tart, with creamy pretzel butter, and pretzel brittle top.
I have always been intrigued by savory versions of sweet things. For this particular recipe, I wanted to do a savory version of cookie butter in the form of pretzel butter! ‘But how do you make something taste like pretzel?’ you may be asking. This question kept me awake at night. After much research, I eventually found the magic formula: malt barley syrup (which has a mild yeasty, bread flavor), coarse salt, baking soda (a critical part of pretzel making), and a crunchy texture.
Servings: 12 | Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes + 3 hours cooling
Food processor
Plastic wrap
Rolling pin
11” removable bottom tart pan
Aluminum foil
Pie weights
Heat-safe bowl
Small saucepan
Offset spatula
Baking sheet
Parchment paper
Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan with lid
Candy thermometer
Wooden spoon
Tart Crust:
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup cold butter, cubed
1 tbsp shortening
½ cup sugar
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Dark Chocolate Ganache:
10 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate (either chips or coarsely chopped bars; I used Hershey’s Special Dark chips)
⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
Pretzel Butter:
8 oz. hard pretzels
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup canola oil
½ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp barley malt syrup
1 tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
Pretzel Brittle:
2 cups hard pretzels
2 cups sugar
¾ cup water
5 tbsp barley malt syrup
½ tsp salt
8 tbsp butter, room temp
1 tsp baking soda
Assembly:
Flaky salt
Tart Crust (20 minutes + 1 hour cooling + 25 minutes cooking)
In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, shortening, and sugar, and process until well combined and the texture is like coarse sand.
With the food processor running, stream in the heavy whipping cream, and continue to process until the dough is evenly moist and starts to clump together.
Turn the dough out onto a flat surface and form into a disc.
Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
After the dough has chilled, roll it out to about ⅛” thickness, making sure it is at least a couple inches wider in diameter than your tart pan.
Carefully transfer the dough to an 11” removable bottom tart pan, lifting and dropping in the dough at the sides so it does not tear.
With your knuckles, or a scrap piece of dough, gently press the dough into the corners and sides.
Roll your rolling pin across the top edge to cut off any excess.
Cover the tart crust with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Using a fork, prick holes in the bottom of the chilled pastry crust.
Line the inside of the crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights.
Bake for 5 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350° F and continue to bake for another 10 minutes.
Carefully remove the pie weights and the foil. Return the tart to the oven, baking until lightly golden in color, 5 to 10 minutes.
Set aside to cool while you prepare the ganache.
Dark Chocolate Ganache (10 minutes + 1 hour cooling)
Place the chocolate in a heat-safe bowl and set aside.
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until just boiling.
Pour the cream over the chocolate, making sure all chocolate is submerged, and let stand about 5 minutes.
Stir the ganache in a single direction until smooth.
Pour into the tart shell and level with an offset spatula.
Cover the tart in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until the ganache has solidified, about 1 hour.
Pretzel Butter (10 minutes)
Grind the pretzels in a food processor until very fine.
Add the cream, oil, brown sugar, barley malt syrup, salt, and vanilla, and process for another 2 minutes until well combined.
Spread the pretzel butter on top of the chocolate ganache in the tart and level with an offset spatula.
Cover with plastic wrap and return tart to the fridge to chill.
Pretzel Brittle (35 minutes + 1 hour cooling)
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Coarsely chop the pretzels into medium size pieces and set aside.
In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, water, barley malt syrup, and salt.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Remove the lid and insert a candy thermometer.
Reduce heat to medium and slowly bring the mixture to 240° F, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
Add the room temperature butter and pretzels.
Over medium heat, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to 300° F, or until a drop of the mixture into ice water results in a hard ball.
Stir in the baking soda and quickly pour the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading the brittle out into a thin, flat rectangle with the wooden spoon.
Allow the brittle to cool completely, about 1 hour.
Assembly (5 minutes + 5 minutes cooking)
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Take half of the cooled brittle and break into smaller shards. Transfer the shards to a food processor.
Process the brittle into a fine powder, sifting out any larger pieces with a fine-mesh sieve.
Pour the brittle powder onto the tart and spread evenly over the top. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly level.
Place the tart in the oven, on a rack close to the top, and bake for 5 minutes, or until the powder melts back together.
Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle flaky salt onto the tart. Let cool completely.
Serve immediately. Store leftovers at room temperature for a softer ganache, or in the fridge for a firmer ganache, up to a week.
Enjoy!
Be sure to check out my Best Practices page for tips on how to make this recipe yourself. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and feel free to tag me on Instagram @made.by.shade if you make it!
-Shade