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    You are here: Home / Dessert / Chewy Salted Caramel Shortbread Tart

    Chewy Salted Caramel Shortbread Tart

    Published: Sep 18, 2019 · Modified: Apr 8, 2020 by Joe Morales 1136 words. About 6 minutes to read this article. I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases through the Amazon Affiliate program and other affiliate links at no additional cost to you. Disclaimer Policy

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    caramel shortbread tart
    Salted Caramel Shortbread Tart

    I love salted caramel shortbread tart. Well, actually, I just love caramel period. "I’m not normally a sweets kind of person.” I know, everyone always says that right before they dig in...I’m certainly no exception and should probably stop saying that phrase because truth be told, I love most anything chocolate. Don’t even get me started on ice cream…

    I needed to work on a shortbread recipe for an upcoming event. I researched a few recipes, consulted a couple of cookbooks, and even asked my friend Baker Bettie. She told me to try her Shortbread Crust recipe made for pies, tarts, cheesecakes, and bars. The first one I did was good but it was too crumbly, even after putting in brown sugar (pastry hint from Baker Bettie).

    I played around with a couple of different techniques and put together a winning solution to my shortbread problem. The trick was to use less of the whole egg, and more yolks. This way I have a nice rich and moist shortbread that will give that chew I was looking for.

    The breakdown

    In order to make the tart dough, you will be using the Sanding Method. The sanding method is where you combine your dry ingredients and fat until the mixture looks like cornmeal. Then you are going to add in your wet ingredients and mix to incorporate. To make the caramel, we’re going simply caramelize sugar and add cream.

    The Equipment

    We’ll be using the following items: stand mixer with the paddle attachment, tart pan or 9x13 baking dish, parchment paper, spray oil, 2 medium saucepans, whisk, and a rubber spatula.

    Making the Shortbread Dough

    First things first, preheat your oven to 350°. 

    Place all the dry ingredients and fat into your mixing bowl and mix until you get a cornmeal consistency. Add your wet ingredients and mix until the mixture creates a uniform dough. 

    • sanding mixing method of flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a mixing bowl for a shortbread cookie dough
    • shortbread dough of flour, sugar, salt, and butter in a mixing bowl for a shortbread cookie tart

    Prep Your Pan

    Depending on the baking vessel you’re going to use, cut the parchment paper to fit the bottom. Here I’ve used a tart pan so my parchment paper is a circle and will fit just the bottom of the pan. Spray the pan, place in your parchment paper, and spray again. Make sure to spray the cracks and crevices.

    • parchment paper cut into a circle to fit into a tart pan
    • pan sprayed tart pan layered with a round piece of parchment paper

    Press and Bake

    Place your dough into the tart pan and press dough to fill the pan evenly. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until you achieve a golden brown. Allow to cool completely. Then turn out the tart from the pan.

    shortbread dough pressed into the tart pan

    Making the Caramel

    Place cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place sugar and water in the other saucepan and stir.

    Cook but Don’t Stir

    Cook the sugar water on medium-high until you have a light golden color. Do not stir otherwise you can cause your sugar to crystalize. Once you reach the desired color, remove from heat. The caramelized sugar will continue to cook due to residual heat.

    • water and sugar in a saucepan coming to a boil
    • boiling water and sugar in a saucepan starting to caramelize
    • caramelized sugar in a saucepan that has boiled and turned light brown

    Mix the Caramel

    Slowly whisk in the cream. The sugar and the cream will begin to bubble rapidly. This is completely normal. Just keep whisking to incorporate the cream. Set aside and allow to cool.

    • Adding warm cream to caramelized sugar
    • warm cream and hot caramelized sugar boiling
    • finished silky smooth caramel after adding the warm cream

    Finish the Salted Caramel Shortbread Tart

    After the tart and caramel have cooled and come to room temperature, add the thickened caramel to the top of the tart. Scrape the saucepan with your rubber spatula. The caramel will level out on its own. Place the completed tart into the refrigerator to allow the caramel to set, or firm up.

    Serve

    slice of caramel shortbread tart

    Remove from the tart refrigerator an hour before use. Prior to serving, sprinkle finishing salt on top of the caramel.

    Tips and Tricks

    • You can do ¼ cup regular and ¼ cup brown sugar for a more chewy shortbread
    • You can make this the same day but you have to allow plenty of time for the caramel to set after putting it on top of the shortbread. Because of this, I made my salted caramel shortbread tart the day before and placed the completed tart in the refrigerator to set. The next day, I removed the tart from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature so it could be cut and served with ease.

    If you tried the Salted Caramel Shortbread Tart recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter. Tag me with #joeeatsworld

    Salted Caramel Shortbread Tart

    Salted Caramel Shortbread Tart

    A soft, chewy shortbread with topped with an ooey gooey salted caramel layer.
    Author: Joe Morales
    4 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 1 hour
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Servings: 8 slices

    Ingredients 

    Shortbread Dough

    • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
    • ½ cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 cup unsalted butter, cold
    • ¼ cup egg yolks
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Caramel

    • 2 cups granulated sugar
    • ⅔ cups Water
    • 1 ¼ cup heavy cream

    Instructions

    for the shortbread

    • Preheat oven to 350º
    • Place flour, sugar, salt, and butter into the mixing bowl. Place on low and mix until dough forms a cornmeal type texture.
    • Add yolks and vanilla. Mix until dough forms.
    • Take the parchment paper and cut it to fit the pan you are using. Simply cutting the parchment to fit the bottom of the pan will be all you need.
    • Spray the pan, place the parchment paper into the pan, and spray the parchment and the sides of the pan.
    • Place dough in the center of the pan and form it to the edges of your pan making it as even as possible.
    • Place in oven for 15-20 minutes and cook until a light golden brown.
    • Remove from oven and let the tart cool to room temperature.
    • If you used a tart pan, you can remove the shortbread from the pan. If you used the rectangular pan, leave the shortbread in the pan.

    for the salted caramel

    • Place cream into one of the sauce pans and bring it to a simmer. Once it simmers, turn down to low to keep warm.
    • Place sugar and water into the other sauce pan and mix.
    • Cook the sugar and water on medium high without stirring until water evaporates and sugar begins to caramelize. Remove from heat when you have a light golden brown color.
    • Remove cream from heat and whisk into the caramelized sugar. The mixture will bubble rapidly and steam. This is normal due to the remaining mositure and difference in temperatures. Continue whisking to incorporate all of the cream.
    • Set aside to cool down. Once the caramel comes to room temperature, you can pour it onto the tart or directly into your rectangular pan. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours (or overnight) to set.
    • Once caramel has set, cut into desired shapes or numbers. Sprinkle with finishing salt and serve.

    Disclaimer: I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases through the Amazon Affiliate program and other affiliate links at no additional cost to you.

    Equipment

    Stand mixer
    Tart pan
    Whisk

    Notes

    • you can do ¼ cup regular and ¼ cup brown sugar for a more chewy shortbread.
    • You can omit this step and simply add finishing salt to the top of the caramel upon serving.
    • You can also use a 9 x 9 baking dish instead of the tart pan.
    Calories: 514kcal
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American, French, Scottish
    Keyword: caramel, chewy, shortbread, shortbread recipe, tart
    Tried this recipe?Mention @joeeatsworld1 and tag #joeeatsworld!
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